MAN Truck & Bus has rolled out the first series-produced battery-electric truck equipped with the relatively new Megawatt Charging System (MCS). According to the German commercial vehicle manufacturer, MAN is the first manufacturer in Europe to produce MCS-enabled electric trucks as part of its regular series production. The vehicles are manufactured at the company’s main plant in Munich.
The Megawatt Charging System was developed specifically for heavy-duty commercial vehicles and enables significantly higher charging capacities than the previously widespread Combined Charging System (CCS). The electric models MAN eTGX and eTGS currently achieve up to 375 kW via CCS. With the new MCS interface, MAN states that the charging capacity increases to up to 750 kW – at a maximum of 1,000 amperes and 750 volts.
Although the name suggests otherwise, the first MCS-enabled series production model from MAN does not yet charge at a full megawatt. However, the higher power output already significantly reduces charging times: an eTGX or eTGS with six battery packs and a usable total capacity of 534 kWh is expected to take less than 30 minutes to charge from 20 to 80 per cent. For chassis with seven battery packs and a total capacity of 623 kWh, the same charging cycle should take less than 40 minutes.
