New eTGE: it’s electrifying!

By Charleen Clarke 

Electric vehicles are the name of the game – in all sectors of the greater automotive industry, from city cars to trucks and buses. Now MAN Truck and Bus is playing in the electric arena, with its eTGE van and minibus. We went to Munich to drive it …

Background

Before moving onto the electric vehicles, we need to take a tiny step backwards – and look at the launch of the actual TGE. This took place at the IAA Commercial Vehicles exhibition in 2016. A van – to rival the likes of the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter – was clearly missing from the MAN product range. So, the company developed one. More or less…

We say “more or less” because the eTGE is virtually identical to its Volkswagen Crafter sibling. This is a Very Good Thing – because the Crafter is magnificent. The TGE is even produced in the same Września, Poland factory as the Crafter. Which begs the question: why buy the MAN and not just opt for the tried-and-tested Crafter? The chaps at MAN will tell you that, with MAN, you get a massive, slick network of commercial vehicle dealers (which is indeed true).

“They are not dinky toy dealers,” one senior member of the MAN team remarked at the launch. “They are commercial vehicle experts, who understand the benefits of uptime, and the necessity to get a van back on the road as fast as possible. The staff members are specialist, highly trained van salespersons, who can provide invaluable advice to customers. The commercial vehicle business is completely different to the car business,” he pointed out.

Customers clearly share these sentiments: the MAN TGE is now available in over 30 countries and over 20 000 MAN TGEs have been produced in Września so far.

Back to the future

So much for the background. The recent big news when it comes to the TGE is the development of an electric derivative. In fact, make that derivatives: while the company kicked off with an electric van last year (the fully electric-driven MAN eTGE 4.140 celebrated its world première at the 2018 IAA Commercial Vehicle exhibition in Hannover), it will also launch an electric minibus at the Busworld exhibition in Brussels in October this year. Coincidentally (probably not, actually), the 20 000^th unit to roll off the Września line was an electric van. We drove the yet-to-be-launched minibus during a press junket in Munich.

Technical details

The technical underpinnings of the vehicle are the same, irrespective of the body shape (van or minibus) and the drivetrain is the same as you would find in the eCrafter. It is powered by a 100 kW permanently activated synchronous motor.  The three-phase motor is mounted right at the front on the drive axle in combination with the single-speed gearbox, which drives the front wheels. It delivers 290 Nm of torque – immediately. So, when you get into the eTGE, fire up the engine (hmmm, “fire up” probably isn’t the best choice of words; starting the van is as dramatic as switching on a light switch) and prod the accelerator, you’re propelled forward immediately. It makes for a great driving experience.

The vehicle feels very passenger-car like to drive, with minimal body roll and predictable handling. The interior is elegant and upmarket; it really is a great place to be. There is more than enough storage space. The seats are supportive and extremely comfortable (close your eyes and you will think that you’re in a passenger car). The accurate yet light electric power steering means that it steers like a car; it’s never a mission to get around corners or to park the vehicle. The ergonomics in the cab are extremely car-like too.

It comes with a wide selection of advanced driver-assistance and safety systems; we particularly like the emergency brake assist (EBA), which has been installed as standard across the range from day one (this isn’t a standard feature on some other vans).

The eTGE uses the same 36kW lithium ion battery as the e-Golf. It has a maximum speed of 90 km/h, which is more than enough for around town. The range is around 160 km which, we’re told by MAN, is perfectly adequate – because about 70% of light and medium commercial vehicles used in urban areas travel fewer than 100 kilometres per day on average.

It takes anything from 45 minutes (to recharge to 80% using a 40 kW charging station) to nine hours to recharge using 220V AC.

South African launch

So, there you have it. The eTGE in a nutshell. Anyone looking for a ”green” van or minibus could do no better. But, when will it come to South Africa? The bad news is that we don’t know when the TGE (let alone the eTGE) will come here. One reason could be the fact that South Africa is a long-standing market for the Crafter (a new version was successfully launched into the local market in the second half of last year).

“In line with the VW Group and Traton Group strategic intent, the MAN TGE branded versions of the new van ranges are slowly being introduced successfully throughout the world. For South Africa, products are being configured and development of those products, provided they make business sense, is in the making,” says Dave van Graan, head of special sales projects at MAN Automotive. Which means no launch date yet. We can just watch, and wait, and hope …