MAN

The latest MAN Group annual results had just been announced at the time of my visit. These showed that the MAN Group made an operating profit of €475 million on a turnover of €15.7 billion in 2013 down on the €969 million profit of 2012 on a similar turnover. The drop was mainly attributable to the Power Engineering sector with the Commercial Vehicles business stable at €458 million.

A financial release said, ‘The European commercial vehicle market clearly outperformed the previous year in 2013 due to pull-forward effects from the Euro6 emission standard. Against this backdrop, MAN Truck & Bus recorded an order intake of €9.3 billion and MAN Latin America lifted its order intake to €3.0 billion. Both MAN Truck & Bus and MAN Latin America boosted their revenue by 3% to €9.1 billion and €3.0 billion respectively. Overall, MAN delivered 140,333 vehicles to its customers in 2013.’

Anders Nielsen, Chief Executive Officer of MAN Truck & Bus AG, commented, ‘We have identified measures to boost the operating profit at MAN Truck & Bus to more than €800 million a year in the medium term and we are already well on track.’ MAN expects commercial vehicle sales in 2014 to remain constant. It believes revenue in the Commercial Vehicles business area will probably be down slightly on 2013 while return on sales is expected to exceed the prior-year figure despite continued strong competition. The MAN Group as a whole expects to see revenue slightly below the previous year but a significantly higher operating profit in 2014.

MAN in the UK

Talking to Ian Mclean about MAN and Neoplan in the UK, he said that all Euro5 stock had been sold pre-Christmas and expressed satisfaction with the way that Euro6 sales were going. The first Euro6 coach, a 12.2m Tourliner P20 53-seater, had been delivered to Ellisons on 1 March. Ian anticipated that by mid May there would be over 20 Euro6 Neoplan coaches in service in the UK, a mix of Tourliners and Starliners. A demonstration Euro6 Tourliner P20 was scheduled to be delivered to the UK and go on the road during mid to late April, which would enable operators keen to buy the vehicle to try it before doing so.

Following research on customer preferences he had altered the specification for future stock Tourliners, upgrading the moquette trim. With the switch from Euro5 to Euro6 there were a number of differences in the specification but to the untrained eye the only noticeable ones were a new dash board and the addition of AdBlue tanks for the SCR system. On the engine, the block, crank and pistons were all the same.

With the new engine technology there is to be a change in the way that coaches are marketed. All Euro6 powered coaches are to be offered with a four-year comprehensive warranty. Aware of past misunderstandings, Ian told me that the documentation explained exactly what was covered in each year of cover. He also made it clear that in common with other manufacturers, MAN’s engines rely on synthetic oils to ensure durability and longevity and the first thing a dealer will check in the event of a claim is that the oil grade is the correct one.

Recognising customer wariness over Euro6 and to give operators confidence in the light of this, he said that all Euro6 coaches would be offered with Warranty+, an extension to the standard warranty that runs for fours years. Under this scheme, every year or every 80,000km, whichever comes first, the coach has to go in to an MAN dealer who will change the engine oil, the top end set and all of the filters. The offer extends across the Neoplan range including the Tourliner P20, P21 and P22 and the Starliner P11 and P12 models.

There is a recognition that for the 69 strong dealer network, which has been developed on the back of a vehicle parc that is over 90% truck, to be familiar with coaches and able to provide the necessary expertise when called upon, individual dealerships need to be seeing them on a regular basis, both to justify the training investment and to build up the necessary skills. The development of VIP bus and coach technicians, based at one dealership but available to help out elsewhere if necessary, is a step forward in this regard.

Further addressing the issue, a variety of packages are being offered that go beyond the standard warranty and Warranty+, all the way to full repair and maintenance. Ian told me that every first offer the company makes in response to a request will include two years bronze maintenance cover which includes all scheduled maintenance according to the manufacturer’s specification, as well all PMIs (according to the request interval), an annual MOT and access to MAN’s Document Database. In addition, MAN Fleet Management Services are included. It is not compulsory to take any one of the bronze, silver or gold R&M packages if an operator wants to use his own facilities or feels he is too far from a dealer, but you do have to have Warranty+ with the coach visiting a dealer annually for four years to maintain the validity of the warranty. Ian believes there will be demand for R&M because there appears to be a knowledge and skills-set gap at many operators with regard to Euro6. R&M gives certainty of costs for a fixed monthly figure or there is the option of a pay as you go approach, known as ‘comfort manage’ under which you decide what you want doing and what you pay for.

Ian commented, ‘where this will drive us is towards confidence on used vehicles if we know the cost of maintenance. It will also, in the longer term, enable us to offer rental and contract hire. It is good for the dealer network and makes it easier for us to give a fair price for a part exchange.’

Last word

In the Starliner, Neoplan has a product that offers more visual presence than any other coach on the market, bar none. In this respect MAN has remained completely true to the old Neoplan ethos. In the days when Neoplan was an independent company it would do anything you wanted on any of its models and if you wanted something it didn’t already offer, it would develop it. The trouble was that though its customers were happy, it didn’t make any money.

Under MAN, the driveline is standardised on the D26 engine with the Tip-Matic gearbox and, though there have been some fine options through the Individual and Travelution programmes, the ability for UK customers to specify exactly what they want on a factory built coach has been limited. That is no longer the case on the Starliner as MAN has shown a willingness to listen to the wishes of operators. Plauen is an accomplished and versatile plant with a workforce that is proud to turn out a high standard of vehicle. That willingness and commitment to serving the customer and the imagination and commitment to his customers of operators like Dave Parry mean that there will be some seriously impressive vehicles built at Plauen in the future, while the efforts of the UK team should ensure that it is easier to acquire and maintain them.

By Stuart Jones