According to the German timber and building material wholesaler, Behrens Group, the electric lorries consume between 80 and 90 kilowatt-hours per 100 kilometres; around 10% less than initially expected. The vehicles are used for both distribution and shuttle transport, delivering wood products such as doors and flooring to urban and rural construction sites.
“The MAN eTGX exceeds our expectations – it is reliable, powerful and economical,” said Andreas Jedamzik, fleet manager at Behrens. He added that drivers have praised the lorries’ range, low noise and comfort, and that customer reactions to zero-emission deliveries have been positive.
The HGVs operate primarily on 6×2 chassis and are equipped with electric forklifts and BDF swap bodies with powered opening mechanisms, which enable flexible route planning and safe loading. One of the vehicles travels a regular 650 km overnight route between Rotenburg and Osnabrück, using the company’s own charging infrastructure en route.
Charging is handled at Behrens sites in Rotenburg and Großenhain, where each location hosts six fast-charging points connected to a megawatt transformer station.
The fleet is part of the KsNI programme, funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport, and contributes to the Fraunhofer IFAM research project Transportation in Charge, which aims to assess real-world electric truck operation and infrastructure.
MAN has delivered around 200 pre-series electric trucks ahead of full-scale production starting in June 2025. Across all users, the vehicles have collectively travelled more than two million kilometres, with average energy consumption of 97 kWh per 100 km. With a standard battery capacity of up to 534 kWh, the trucks can reach 500 km on a single charge, or up to 740 km with a seventh battery pack.
