MANmagazine Truck UK 1/2015

man magazine
1/2015
Ready for
the future
1915
Looking back on a history
of more than 250 years,
the MAN Group celebrates
yet another significant
anniversary in 2015: The
history of commercial
vehicle construction at
MAN began a century ago.
An overview of the most
important milestones.
E
ntered into the trade register of
the City of Nuremberg on 21 June
1915 was a new company, namely
“Lastwagenwerke M.A.N.-Saurer”. The company
had been established as a joint venture
between Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg
AG and Saurer, a Swiss producer of commercial
vehicles. Soon thereafter, the first MAN-
Saurer three-tonne truck left the joint factory
in Lindau, Germany, on Lake Constance, followed
by the first buses used as long-distance
coaches by the Imperial Post Office, and transporting
passengers as well as letters and
parcels. This was the beginning of commercial
vehicle construction at MAN, a success story
that has not only decisively shaped the history
of the company itself. With its advanced and
often revolutionary innovations, MAN has significantly
influenced the development of
trucks and buses for the last 100 years – an endeavour
that continues to this very day.
Production shifted to the MAN plant in
Nuremberg in 1916 and the company traded
as “M.A.N. Lastwagenwerke” following the departure
of Sauer two years later. In 1924, MAN
presented the first truck with a direct dieselinjection
engine – which formed the basis for
the triumphant deployment of diesel engines
in truck construction. It saved up to 75% of
operating costs compared with the gasoline
engines common at the time. Back then,
economy and efficiency were already two
1924
In cooperation with the Saurer company, MAN
builds the first trucks and buses in Lindau in
southern Germany. One year later, production
moves to MAN’s plant in Nuremberg. MAN develops the first vehicle
engine with direct diesel
injection. This launches the
triumphant success story of
diesel engines in trucks –
which continues until today.
1951
The first German truck
engine with exhaust turbocharging
achieves a 35%
performance improvement
over conventional truck
engines: the six-cylinder
engine MAN 1546 GT with
175 hp instead of 130 hp.
1961
With the 750 HO, MAN introduces the first bus with
a modular chassis for city and regional buses as
well as travel coaches to the market.
1897
Together with MAN
engineers, Rudolf
Diesel develops the
first diesel engine.
1932
With 140 hp, the MAN
S1H6 is the world’s most
powerful diesel truck.
A year later, MAN even
markets a truck model
with 150 hp.
Photos: Historical Archive MAN Truck & Bus
1951
The MAN truck F8 with its V8
180-hp engine becomes a flagship
of Germany’s emerging “economic
miracle” period.
1955
The production of trucks, buses and
tractors moves from Nuremberg to
the new plant in Munich. The first
truck coming off the production line
is an MAN 515 L1. Engine production
remains in Nuremberg.
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