MAN Truck & Bus SE will invest around €300m (£259m) into the expansion and further development of its European service network by 2030.

The major new plans mark the largest-ever investment in the firm’s European service network

The investment will create new bases in Europe, modernise existing locations, optimise regional coverage, further improve service quality and continue “intensive” work on making the network fit for electric mobility.

The major new plans mark the largest-ever investment in the firm’s European service network and will “significantly strengthen customer proximity and service quality once again”.

The investment comes after the company’s announcement at the start of the year of its intention to reduce costs with its ‘MAN2030+’ programme to enable significant investments in growth and innovation.

There are around 1,200 MAN-owned and partner companies across Europe, with a total of approximately 7,000 employees working in MAN companies.

Friedrich Baumann, executive board member for sales and customer solutions at MAN, said: “A strong brand needs a strong service network. We have that – and we are now making it even stronger. Alongside our sales team, our workshops are our public face for our customers. Our strong network is a competitive advantage. We want to expand it further.”

Changes will include a focus on network coverage to ensure closer customer proximity to workshops. The goal is for almost 80% of customers to have a travel time of less than 30 minutes to the next MAN service location.

“The commercial vehicle business is significantly more complex and service-intensive than the passenger car business. The daily availability of vehicles is essential for our customers’ businesses. To be successful, we need to be very close to our customers and offer top-notch service,” Baumann continued.

In the UK, MAN already has 68 service and sales locations, with around 900 employees in total and 550 in its own branches. A service investment of around €40m (£34.6m) is planned for the UK MAN Network by 2030, and several additional UK locations are to be opened by 2031.

MAN is also “working flat out at all levels” to make its sales and service locations fit for sustainable mobility. By 2026, two out of three bases are to be prepared for e-mobility. Around one third of the planned €300m investment will be channelled into electromobility and digitalisation.

This includes further training on e-mobility for sales and service staff in Europe, from sales representatives to high-voltage mechanics.

Several MAN-owned battery repair centres are already in operation across Europe, including in Germany, Spain, Belgium, Austria and Italy. Further countries will be connected within the next few months. By 2030, the plan is to further expand the network of battery repair centres and to tap into all European markets.

As part of the cooperation with energy company E.On, a large number of MAN service branches will be equipped with publicly accessible charging points for electric trucks. In total, the cooperation comprises up to 400 charging points at up to 170 locations in Europe, including up to 125 locations in Germany alone.

Other steps include the further expansion of photovoltaic systems at MAN branches, together with the widespread installation of LED lighting and state-of-the-art heating systems, marking an important step toward sustainability.

The digitisation of workshop processes is being consistently driven forward. New tools include app solutions and artificial intelligence to support the end-to-end digitisation of workshop visits and to ensure more efficient processes, greater transparency and improved service quality for customers.