Economical and eco-friendly alternative:
natural-gas buses from MAN
Kortrijk
17.10.2013
MAN has decades of experience and a wide range of products in
the field of CNG technology
MAN Truck & Bus
The number of gas-powered vehicles is steadily increasing. Every month
sees more than a quarter of a million new CNG vehicles registered around
the world. Current forecasts predict that by 2020 there will 65 million of them
on the road. This also applies to local public transport, where more and more
natural-gas buses are being operated as an economical and environmentally
friendly alternative to the conventional diesel drive. Extracting, cleaning and
transporting the fossil fuel with the lowest carbon content require comparatively little energy. As a result, natural gas boasts the highest CO 2 efficiency
of all fossil fuels in the "well-to-wheel" comparison. Without any need for
technical modifications, CNG engines and buses from MAN can also be run
on treated biogas, which makes operation CO2 neutral. A characteristic of
natural gas is that it burns very cleanly by comparison with other fossil fuels,
so that engines emit low levels of air pollutants such as carbon monoxide,
hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. This makes naturalgas buses an alternative that remains significantly below the levels required
by Euro 6, currently the most stringent emission standard, completely without
filter technology or additives. Since mid-2013 MAN has also been offering
the complete range of CNG products in Euro 6 versions.
Dachauer Strasse 667
80995 München
Head of
Corporate Communications
Dominique Nadelhofer
Tel. +49 89 1580-2001
Dominique.Nadelhofer@man.eu
Bus Communications
Ralph Korek
Tel. +49 89 1580-63864
Ralph.Korek@man.eu
www.mantruckandbus.com
MAN CNG buses - an alternative that pays for itself
An analysis of the lifecycle costs of diesel and CNG buses shows the benefits for customers who choose natural gas as their power source. The purchase price of an MAN Lion's City CNG is around 20 percent higher than that
of a diesel-powered vehicle in the same model range. Based on a service life
of ten years at an average of 60,000 kilometres per annum, with a constant
price of €1.40 per litre of diesel and €1.00 per kilogram of natural gas, the
MAN Lion's City CNG saves fuel costs totalling approximately €150,000 by
comparison with the diesel-powered version. The higher purchase price is
thus quickly amortized. Of course, service and maintenance costs also have
to be included in the analysis: due to the technology employed for the MAN
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Lion's City CNG, these are slightly higher. However, at a little under ten percent the additional cost relative to a diesel bus is moderate.
Natural gas and bio-gas are eco-friendly, economical, future-proof alternatives to conventional diesel power particularly for urban bus companies that
are able to use an existing infrastructure to supply them with energy. Around
the world there are many countries where the price of natural gas is lower
than that of diesel fuel. Operators of natural-gas-powered buses are often
able to take advantage of state incentives offered by governments wanting to
increase the percentage of natural gas in the fuel mix. CNG buses also run
particularly quietly because combustion in the gas-powered engine, like its
petrol-driven counterpart, is initiated by spark plugs and therefore smooth as
silk. And on top of all that, MAN's gas-powered engines convince with their
long service intervals, are easy to service and can be fully diagnosed using
MAN-Cats II.
Long experience in CNG drives and a wide range of products
MAN has more than 40 years' experience with natural-gas buses and has
since the year 2000 delivered over 7,500 natural-gas buses, bus chassis with
natural-gas engines and individual natural-gas engines.
There are currently two series of engines (E08 and E28) available for bus
and bus-chassis applications in five output classes from 220 hp to 310 hp.
MAN also has an offering for complete buses, with no compromises: naturalgas-powered drives can be ordered as alternatives for just about every model in the MAN Lion's City range, from the 12-metre long solo bus to the
18.75-metre long articulated bus. Moreover, the MAN Lion's City CNG is also
available in a version for hot countries. Special applications, for example a
pre-separator for the air-intake system, ensure reliable operation in very
dusty regions where temperatures are high. For the UK, MAN also offers the
EcoCity, a right-hand-drive version especially adapted for this market. Easy
to build on city-bus chassis from MAN with natural-gas engines round off the
comprehensive portfolio.
The modular rooftop system can be selected individually for all models: a
standardised aluminium frame provides space for between four and ten gas
cylinders under the roof fairing.
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MAN not only offers reliable technologies but is of course completely familiar
with the servicing and repair of the high-pressure gas systems. If the customer requests it, training courses will ensure that MAN's know-how is competently transferred to the customer's own service personnel or an external
service team. In addition, the global supply of spare parts for gas-powered
buses is assured. This guarantees the smooth operation of the gas-powered
buses made by MAN.
The MAN Group is one of Europe's leading industrial players in transport-related engineering, with annual revenues of some €15.8 billion in
2012. MAN is a supplier of trucks, buses, diesel engines, turbo machinery and special transmissions and has around 54,300 employees
worldwide. MAN's business areas are all leaders in their markets.
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