MAN Truck & Bus
3 Apr 2025
From freezing cold Lapland to the Allianz Arena in Munich: a battery-electric MAN eTGX successfully completed this 3,400-kilometre trip – and showed that such a journey is already possible today with the existing public charging infrastructure.
Lions normally prefer warmer climes. Not so the electric lions from MAN. They can cope with any weather - even snow and ice in the Arctic Circle in northern Sweden. An unusual tour through Europe started there on 20 March: a MAN eTGX took up the challenge of driving 3,400 kilometres from the far north to the Allianz Arena in Munich. The aim of the campaign: the ‘Polar Express’ was to show how well it could cope with the harsh conditions in Sweden and whether such a journey could be carried out at all with the help of the currently available charging infrastructure.
Ice-cold start in the Arctic Circle: Influencer André Brockschmidt (left) and Thorsten Helbig from MAN ProfiDrive sat in the cockpit during the first stages.
Lion in northern Sweden: The eTGX endured the extreme climate without grumbling - and even here it travelled a good 400 kilometres.
The eTGX was to complete the tour in seven stages: from the Arctic Circle along the east coast of Sweden to Stockholm, from there through the centre of the country to Malmö in southern Sweden, on to Copenhagen and through Denmark to Hamburg and from there via Schweinfurt once through Germany to its final destination in Munich. It was also planned that he would make a longer stop at the MAN site in Copenhagen to visit the service and sales team there. In addition to MAN ProfiDrive trainers, influencers André Brockschmidt (Bauforum 24) and Christina Scheib (Trucker Babes), who are well-known in the truck scene, were also on board at times.
After seven days of driving, it was clear that the electric lion endured the cold climate without complaining and was able to easily recharge its batteries with new energy at any time - which it also used very sparingly. Despite the sometimes deep winter conditions with snow and ice, which required tires with special grip and thus increased rolling resistance, the 32-ton electric vehicle completed the route with an average consumption of 117 kWh per 100 kilometers. On the sections of the route in Denmark and Germany with slightly warmer temperatures, consumption even fell to only around 105 kWh. As a result, the range before recharging varied between around 400 and 500 kilometers. Even in the Arctic Circle, the next charging station could always be reached safely.
The MAN eTGX consumed a total of 4,500 kilowatt hours of energy, of which it generated 670 kWh itself through energy recovery when braking and driving downhill. The bottom line is that only 3,830 kWh had to be supplied by charging. Of course, the Polar Express mainly used charging stations that are powered by 100 percent renewable energy. This enabled it to save up to 2.7 tons of CO2 on its journey from the Arctic Circle to the Allianz Arena compared to a comparable diesel articulated truck (assumed average consumption: 27 liters per 100 kilometers). The MAN Charge&Go charging card was used for recharging. It could be used to activate all the charging stations controlled - regardless of the provider.
The influencers who travelled with them were impressed by the truck's performance even in cold conditions, but also by the ease of charging with MAN Charge&Go. "The question is: what about recharging in Europe? Is it a challenge, is it a problem?" says André Brockschmidt, who sat in the cockpit on the first stages in the far north. "And the answer is: No! You just have the charging card and it's quick and easy. Activate the charging point, plug it in, wait a bit, then you can drive on!"
MAN was also unreservedly positive about the unusual tour through Europe. ‘The aim of the MAN Polar Express was to show that with the new MAN eTruck and the existing public charging infrastructure, an all-electric tour from the Arctic Circle to Munich is already possible today,’ says Friedrich Baumann, Executive Board Member for Sales & Customer Solutions at MAN Truck & Bus. "Now we can say: mission accomplished! The vehicle technology is ready and there are numerous helpful solutions, such as MAN Charge&Go, to make it easier for our customers to switch from diesel to electric trucks." Nevertheless, there is still a lot to be done in Europe: in order to make the drive transition in long-distance transport a reality, major investments need to be made in the further expansion of the high-performance charging infrastructure.
Football while travelling: The round leather in the colours of FC Bayern was presented to football legend Giovane Élber and members of the FC Bayern Munich fan club upon arrival in Munich.
Welcome home: Giovane Élber received the eTGX and MAN ProfiDrive expert Thomas Walch at the Allianz Arena.
MAN and FC Bayern in Munich are showing what this can look like in practice. A total of 30 high-performance, megawatt charging points for buses and trucks are being built in three planned expansion stages on the southern bus car park of the Allianz Arena. This will allow up to 500 vehicles to be charged every day. The location is ideal because the stadium is situated directly at the busy Munich North motorway junction with its own motorway access. Up to 10,000 trucks a day pass through this important junction for the entire European road freight transport network. The Allianz Arena was therefore the perfect place to celebrate the end of the Polar Express' tour. Bayern legend Giovane Élber greeted the team with the words ‘Welcome home’ and added: "What a journey! It's unbelievable what the all-electric trucks from MAN can do."
Text: Christian Buck
Photos: MAN
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