MAN is taking a major step forward in eMobility with the next-generation Lion’s City E, set to feature new lithium-ion batteries from its own production facility in Nuremberg starting 2025.
MAN Next-Generation eBus with New Modular Battery System
The upgraded batteries offer improved efficiency, safety, and flexibility, benefiting operators, drivers, and passengers alike. The vehicle will debut at the UITP Summit in Hamburg, with series production beginning in Q4 2025.
The company has already sold over 2,500 eBuses across Europe since 2019, covering more than 100 million kilometres emission-free in everyday use. In Q1 2025 alone, sales totalled 283 eBuses. This corresponds to more than 50 per cent of the city buses sold by MAN in Europe.
The new MAN BatteryPacks are lighter, more energy-dense, and allow greater range with fewer packs, enhancing passenger capacity and lowering operating costs. A modular system lets customers choose the number of packs to match their range and capacity needs. For example, the 12-metre Lion’s City E will offer four or five battery packs with a capacity of 356 or 445 kWh, and the 18-metre articulated version will offer up to eight packs with a capacity of 534 or 623 kWh.
“To ensure that every operator gets the ideal eBus for their needs, we are continuing to offer two battery usage strategies for the Lion’s City E. New from model year 2025 is the option of combining both usage strategies individually with the desired battery capacity. This offers customers maximum flexibility,” explains Heinz Kiess, Head of Product Marketing Bus. The ‘Maximum Range’ strategy is available for particularly high daily ranges of up to 380 kilometres. Thanks to an extended discharge depth of up to 90 per cent, enough energy can be extracted per charge for longer distances. The ‘Reliable Range’ battery usage strategy is suitable for operators who require a consistently reliable range throughout the entire service life of their fully electric buses. Continuously adapted to the ageing of the battery, the discharge depth increases steadily over the service life, starting at 65 per cent. This guarantees a consistently high range of up to 270 kilometres under favourable conditions throughout the entire service life. “This makes the Lion’s City E ideally suited for all routes and all urban transport scenarios,” says Kiess.
MAN uses NMC cell chemistry (nickel-manganese-cobalt) in its batteries, which has been specially adapted for use in commercial vehicles and Battery Management Systems (BMS) continuously monitors the condition of the cells during operation. A thermal management system keeps the batteries at optimal temperature. If, for example, an unforeseen event occurs, it takes internal measures to ensure a safe condition. In the event of an accident, the BMS immediately disconnects the battery from the rest of the vehicle (high-voltage emergency shutdown). It also uses an intelligent heating and cooling system to keep the battery cells within an optimum temperature range at all times.
With an expected battery lifespan of up to 14 years or one million kilometres, MAN also focuses on sustainability through efficient production and a closed-loop recycling system, already capable of recycling 96 per cent of each battery.
By 2025, all core eBus components such as batteries, electronics, and drivetrain will be coming from within the Group. This supports MAN’s goal to deliver 90 per cent of its European buses with battery power by 2030, in line with rising demand for zero-emission public transport across Europe.
