Recently presented last autumn, in series production since the beginning of the year and now already winning its first major award: the MAN Lion’s City 10 E has been voted “Bus of the Year in Spain” at the National Transport Awards 2023 in Madrid.
A great start to the year for the latest model in the MAN electric bus family: at the National Transport Awards in Madrid in January, the MAN Lion’s City 10 E received the “Bus of the Year in Spain 2023” award. The all-electric midibus was selected as the award winner by a jury of professionals and industry experts from Spain – including numerous managers from public transport and bus companies. “The jury members know from experience what makes the markets tick, how important the topic of sustainability is and which vehicles perfectly meet the needs of companies, drivers and passengers. That’s why the award has a particularly high significance for us,” says Stéphane de Creisquer, Managing Director of MAN Truck & Bus Iberia, and adds: “We are proud to have received this prestigious award. It spurs us on to continue supporting our customers with innovative solutions and vehicles.”
The National Transport Awards are organised by the trade magazines “Transporte 3” and “Viajeros“. Last year, two buses from MAN were in the running: The NEOPLAN Cityliner Platinum special model and the new MAN Lion’s Intercity LE were voted “Coach of the Year in Spain 2022” and “Bus of the Year in Spain 2022“. And in 2020 the Lion’s City 12 E received the title of “Bus of the Year in Spain“. “We are very pleased that we are now continuing the success story with our fully electrically powered MAN Lion’s City 10 E. We owe this success to our customers and our team, which gives its best day after day,” said Stéphane de Creisquer at the award ceremony. And further: “The award is further proof of the confidence in our products, because the Lion’s City 10 E only recently celebrated its market launch. It contains all the experience we have gained with the Lion’s City E electric bus series.
Compact dimensions are well received
One of the convincing features of the MAN Lion’s City 10 E, which has been in production at the Polish MAN city bus plant in Starachowice since the beginning of 2023, is its compact size. This is because the midibus version, with a length of 10.5 metres, can play to its strengths especially in the increasing use of customer-oriented “on-demand” services and as an amplifier at high-frequency times as well as a manoeuvrable city centre shuttle. It has a similar passenger capacity to many 12-metre solo buses, but requires significantly less traffic space in narrow city centres and depots and is also much more manoeuvrable.
To create the Lion’s City 10 E, the designers drew on the construction kit of its big brother, the Lion’s City 12 E, which is successfully in use across Europe. Width, height and overhangs remained unchanged, as did the concept of the engine tower-free rear, which provides four more seats (maximum 33 seats and 80 passengers in total) than the few competitors in the segment. The “shortening” of the body took place exclusively between the axles, where a window module was removed, resulting in an overall length of 10.5 metres and saving around 350 kilograms in weight. Despite this significant shortening, there is still room for a wheelchair or pram in the standing platform. A third door is also possible, with which there are still 29 seats available and the passenger flow is once again significantly improved.
Record-breaking turning circle and outstanding range
As a result of the measures, the wheelbase has shrunk significantly from around six metres to 4.40 metres and the turning circle has dropped to a record-breaking 17.2 metres, making the car enormously manoeuvrable. Like its big locally emission-free brothers, the Lion’s City 10 E has adaptive PCV dampers for the best driving characteristics. The midibus thus fits seamlessly into the electric bus portfolio – standard components and spare parts are used and no elaborate “special solutions” are required. For optimal corrosion protection, the complex KTL primer is used. Even though it is the smallest full-grown city bus of the new MAN Lion’s City generation, it offers all the advanced technology of its longer colleagues. This also applies to the modern safety systems such as ESP, active warning cornering assistant, daylight-bright LED headlights or the camera-based MAN OptiView mirror replacement system.
Like all MAN eBuses, the Lion’s City 10 E also uses the Group’s proven lithium-ion batteries (NMC) with particularly high energy density and service life. Either four or even five packs are installed on the roof. When fully equipped, the performance data are 400 kilowatt hours and up to 300 km range or 320 kilowatt hours and 235 km range. The 10-metre eBus is charged in the depot via CCS plug and with up to 150 kW. A full charge with four battery packs thus takes less than two and a half hours, with five packs the bus needs about three hours. Ideal for quick use as a booster or on short inner-city routes. “Our goal was and is to provide customers with the best possible support in their daily work – whether with customised solutions, individual consulting services or new technologies,” says Heinz Kiess, Head of Product Marketing Bus at MAN Truck & Bus. “With the Lion’s City 10 E we are now rounding off our electric portfolio at the bottom end, so that hardly any wishes remain unfulfilled.”
Inspiring sustainability, efficiency and reliability
MAN’s CO2 air conditioning system, which has been available since mid-2022 and is particularly sustainable, is on board the new eMidibus at the customer’s request. It is more environmentally friendly and at the same time significantly more efficient, which also has a positive effect on the range. The compact roof-mounted system is operated with climate-neutral carbon dioxide (R744) instead of the conventional refrigerant R134a. “Sustainability, but also efficiency and reliability are the values that characterise our Lion’s City 10 E just like the other MAN eBuses – and this was also excellently received by the jury of the Spanish National Transport Awards,” Kiess sums up.
About the Spanish National Transport Awards
The National Transport Awards were established 35 years ago by the trade magazines “Transporte 3” and “Viajeros“. Every year, a jury of more than 500 entrepreneurs from the transport sector and experts from the motor vehicle sector selects the best vehicle presented on the Spanish market in ten categories since the last edition of the awards. The decisions are based on a comprehensive analysis of the vehicles’ safety, reliability, profitability and efficiency.