Truck maker MAN launches 3.5t van

Mr Elliott,  former MD of Volkswagen Light Commercial Vehicles, said: “Customers have repeatedly asked me about the possibility of an MAN van, so it’s great to be able to confirm that we are in the market. This new addition to our range puts another building block in place for our future.

Volkswagen Crafter – MAN van will twin its successor

“We are keen to offer the HGV approach to repair and maintenance for our customers by reducing operator downtime.”

Mr Elliott, who has already appointed Andrew Taylor to head up the MAN van project, added that when he worked for VW, his ethos was ‘van people, talking van language to van customers’. “That belief has not changed,” he stressed.

“Having the right product with the right strategy, backed by a great dealer network who understand what customers want, will be key to the success of the MAN TGE range.”

The new range of MAN light commercial vehicles was developed by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and will be built with its twin Volkswagen Crafter in the newly-built plant in Wrzesnia, Poland. The production move sees the end of a VW partnership with Mercedes-Benz, building the Crafter on the same line as Sprinter.

The VW/MAN cooperation is expected to create strategic benefits for both brands in acquiring new groups of customers.

MAN Truck & Bus CEO Joachim Drees said: “By launching the MAN light commercial vehicle positioned below our MAN TGL light truck range, we are entering a new business area.

“Many of our customers with heavy commercial vehicles in their fleets have a requirement for light commercial vehicles as well, so the MAN TGE constitutes a smart enhancement to our already established vehicle range.

“We know exactly what our customers need and which areas they operate in, and the vehicle solutions and bodies we will offer them will be a perfect fit to their needs and applications.

“Professional service and also a wide range of solutions from our well established truck business will set standards in this weight range and I’m sure the customers of our light commercial vehicles will be very excited by their introduction as well.”

In the near future, it will enable MAN customers to access all our sales, maintenance and repair services from a single source from light commercial vehicles up to heavy trucks. Since, beside classic box trucks, MAN will also offer special vehicle body solutions e.g. for construction or municipal vehicles of fire engines, the company will further extend its long-established and proven business relations with vehicle body builders.