MAN Truck & Bus is consistently driving forward the transformation of its bus business: At its Ankara plant in Turkey, the company has launched series production of its fully electric MAN Lion’s City E city bus. In recent weeks, the first e-buses have been rolling off the assembly line there – another decisive step in the transition toward zero-emission and sustainable mobility. Following the successful ramp-up of production at the plant in Starachowice, Poland – with thousands of e-buses delivered since 2020 – electric lions are now also rolling off the bus production line in the Turkish capital. At the Olifantsfontein production site, MAN is also manufacturing the Lion’s Explorer E, an e-bus designed for the South African market. By electrifying these three locations, the commercial vehicle manufacturer is responding to the steadily growing demand for zero-emission buses. At the same time, the company is strengthening production capacities in Ankara as part of its global production and e-mobility network.
“With the launch of e-bus production in Ankara, we are setting a significant milestone on our path to electromobility,” says Barbaros Oktay, Head of Bus at MAN Truck & Bus, adding: “We are expanding our production capacities, strengthening our global bus network, and can meet rising customer demands even faster and more flexibly. Ankara will play a key role in our e-mobility strategy going forward.”
MAN transitions its production network to the electric era
The conversion of the Ankara plant is part of MAN’s comprehensive transformation toward becoming a provider of sustainable transport solutions. With the launch of the MAN Lion’s City E in 2020, the Starachowice site in Poland became the first MAN plant in the production network to be fully equipped for the large-scale production of electric vehicles. The Lion’s Explorer E has been built in Olifantsfontein for two years. Series production of the fully electric, heavy-duty MAN eTGS and eTGX trucks began at the Munich plant in 2025. The production team in Krakow is also currently preparing intensively for the series production of the first electric trucks. Series production of the MAN eTGL light-duty truck will begin here in the coming months. MAN will unveil another electric model to round out its all-electric product portfolio in May at the Transpotec trade show in Milan. This truck will also be produced in Krakow in the future. Finally, with the establishment of MAN’s own battery production, the Nuremberg plant has evolved from a pure engine manufacturing site into a development and production site for both state-of-the-art diesel engines and alternative drive concepts.
Ankara as a key component of the e-strategy
In recent years, the infrastructure in Ankara has been modernized, production processes optimized, and the workforce specifically trained to meet the demands of electric mobility. “Through these steps and the investments we’ve made, we are laying the groundwork to offer high-volume, high-quality, zero-emission mobility solutions in the long term,” says Oktay. In the future, in addition to the Lion’s City E, electric intercity buses and the new Lion’s Coach E for tourist travel in Turkey will also be manufactured there. “Our goal is for Ankara, just like Starachowice, to play a key role in the e-mobility transformation of MAN’s bus business,” Oktay continues.
“Ankara is developing into one of MAN’s central e-mobility hubs. Thanks to our flexible production structure, we can manufacture both various electric bus models and conventionally powered buses on the same production line. This enables us to respond efficiently to different market requirements,” emphasizes Mehmet ?ermet, Head of Production Bus at MAN Truck & Bus.
The MAN Lion’s City E: a success story
Since its market launch in 2019, the MAN Lion’s City E has become a success story in Europe and is now in service in numerous European cities. A total of around 3,300 vehicles have already been produced and delivered to customers. In daily operation, these vehicles have collectively covered approximately 250 million kilometers, saving around 150,000 tons of CO2 compared to conventional diesel buses thanks to their locally emission-free operation. The increase in sales figures impressively underscores this dynamic development. In the 2025 fiscal year, electric mobility gained significantly in importance at MAN. Sales of fully electric trucks and buses rose by 168 percent to a total of 1,970 units. The MAN Lion’s City E alone achieved 118 percent growth compared to the previous year, with more than 1,300 e-buses sold in total. This marks a new record for MAN. In Europe, roughly one in every two city buses sold by MAN is now electrically powered.
In addition to the reliability, range, and sustainability of the Lion’s City E, this success is also based on the broad portfolio of zero-emission buses, which is being continuously expanded. It includes compact 10-meter vehicles, classic 12-meter solo buses, 18-meter articulated buses for high passenger volumes, and electric low-entry variants for intercity use. The Lion’s Chassis E also enables the company to serve markets outside Europe. The fully electric MAN Lion’s Coach E also marks the beginning of a new era of zero-emission travel – the first vehicles are scheduled to be delivered to customers by the end of the year. With this diverse range of models, MAN covers all relevant application scenarios and makes a decisive contribution to sustainable mobility in cities, regions, and, in the future, long-distance transport – all over the world.
