MAN Truck & Bus has shown off its first move into the LCV market at CV Show 2017, with a rebadged Volkswagen Crafter.
The MAN TGE van made its UK premiere at the CV Show and generated plenty of interest on the first day, although sales will not begin until later in the year.
The move into vans is the result of a combination of factors. Firstly, the Volkswagen Crafter is no longer a joint venture with Mercedes-Benz, meaning the Volkswagen Group has had to develop the new model on its own. Adding a second brand from within the family is a good opportunity to grow overall sales and amortise development costs.
Secondly, the Volkswagen Group is clearly targeting MAN Truck customers to add MAN vans to their fleets. Many truck operators also run vans in support or delivery roles, and MAN hopes to tap into generally strong brand loyalty among truck operators to generate sales of the TGE range.
The MAN TGE range will consist of panel vans, passenger vans, cab chassis and platform body chassis in different lengths. Various iterations of the Volkswagen 2.0-litre TDI diesel engine will be offered, with either a six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic transmission. Buyers will also be able to choose between front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive.
UK pricing and specifications will be announced later in the year, with the first vehicles arriving in the last quarter of 2017.
