MAN Truck & Bus Iberia won two awards at the National Transport Awards 2022 in Madrid: The NEOPLAN Cityliner Platin special edition and the new MAN Lion’s Intercity LE were voted “Coach of the Year in Spain” and “Bus of the Year in Spain”.
The year 2022 could hardly get off to a more successful start for MAN Truck & Bus Iberia! At the National Transport Awards in Madrid in January, two buses from MAN won the race: The NEOPLAN Cityliner Platin received the “Coach of the Year in Spain” award and the MAN Lion’s Intercity LE was named “Bus of the Year in Spain.” “We are very pleased to receive these two awards, which are highly prestigious. At the same time, they make us incredibly proud. After all, they prove that the new MAN Lion’s Intercity LE has already been very well received on the market after such a short time and that the NEOPLAN Cityliner is continuing its success story. After being voted international ‘Coach of the Year’ in its 50th anniversary year, the coach has now also convinced the jury in Spain – a great success,” said Rudi Kuchta, Head Business Unit Bus at MAN Truck & Bus.
The National Transport Awards are organized by the trade magazines “Transporte 3” and “Viajeros”. The jury is made up of customers and industry experts from Spain, including mainly managers from public transport and bus companies. “Accordingly, the importance of the awards for us is high. After all, the jury members know exactly what the needs of markets, entrepreneurs, drivers and passengers are and which vehicles can serve them perfectly,” said Stéphane de Creisquer, Managing Director of MAN Truck & Bus Iberia, adding: “But we are also grateful to our customers, who have placed their trust in us and our buses for many years. This trust and the awards are an enormous incentive for us to keep working constantly to bring ever more efficient and sustainable vehicles and services to the market and to support our customers with well thought-out and innovative solutions.”
NEOPLAN Cityliner Platin special edition again on the winning track
Just a few months ago, the NEOPLAN Cityliner Platin model was voted “Coach of the Year 2022” by international trade journalists from 22 countries. The jury was particularly impressed by the overall concept of performance, economy, safety, comfort and above all the timeless design. With the “Coach of the Year in Spain” award, the NEOPLAN Cityliner is now continuing its success story that began five decades ago. The “Platin” special edition was launched to mark the coach’s anniversary last year. It is powered by a powerful and modern Euro 6 six-cylinder engine – perfectly matched with the new ZF EcoLife Coach 2 six-speed automatic transmission, which is designed for use in intercity buses and coaches and is also suitable for demanding routes. Because especially in situations which require frequent shifting within a very short time due to constant braking and powerful acceleration, the transmission can convince thanks to its high efficiency.
The NEOPLAN Cityliner also scored points with its high-quality driver’s workplace and innovative safety and assistance systems. Among other things, the vehicle is equipped with the active, electronically adjustable MAN Comfort Drive Suspension (CDS) damping system, the turning assistant with active warning function and pedestrian detection, and MAN OptiView – the world’s first mirror replacement system for coaches.
New MAN Lion’s Intercity LE impresses with outstanding flexibility
Only introduced last autumn and now already winning its first major award: the new MAN Lion’s Intercity LE impressed the jury above all with its great flexibility, which sets standards in the class. “Our goal was to launch an attractive bus model with maximum flexibility at a reasonable price. And we succeeded with the new MAN Lion’s Intercity LE,” said Kuchta. To meet the high requirements, the engineers combined the rear end of the high-floor Lion’s Intercity with the low-floor front end of the current Lion’s City. In this way, more seats can be accommodated in the direction of travel, particularly in the rear section, and less complex and therefore more cost-effective hypoid axles of the latest design can be used. Thanks to the modular design, the model is priced well below low-floor buses, which are based on a pure low-floor city bus design. In addition, the concept allows three intercity-oriented and three city-oriented versions to be flexibly configured. But the new MAN Lion’s Intercity LE also scores in terms of efficiency: Its lower weight ensures lower fuel consumption and thus greater efficiency as well as increased sustainability.
At the beginning of 2022, the two intercity-oriented versions Lion’s Intercity LE 12 (42 C, 12.44 m) and Lion’s Intercity LE 13 (43 C, 13.14 m) were launched. The city-oriented variants of the Lion’s Intercity LE (32 C/33 C) of the same length will follow at the beginning of 2023 – at the same time as the proven MAN EfficientHybrid system from the new MAN city bus generation, which has a highly efficient automatic stop-start system and boost function. The two 14.46-meter three-axle Lion’s Intercity LE 14 versions (34 C/44 C) will follow in 2024.
