iF Design Awards for the MAN Lion’s City bus and the MAN CitE concept truck
Commercial vehicle manufacturer MAN Truck & Bus has received not one, but two sought-after iF Design Awards. The first accolade, the iF Design Award 2019 in the “Automobiles/Vehicles/Bikes” category, was awarded to the new MAN Lion’s City bus. The MAN CitE, on the other hand, scooped up the iF Gold Award in the “Professional Concept Mobility” category, leaving behind other top-class design studies in the passenger car and motorcycle business.
MAN CitE – an all-new concept truck for urban distribution needs
The MAN CitE is a fully electric concept distribution truck that is close to production and could, for example, be used by parcel and courier services to ensure eco-friendly and quiet delivery in urban centers in the future. The vehicle had already caused quite the stir at the IAA Commercial Vehicles trade show in Hanover.
The jury praised the MAN design team for managing to fundamentally rethink the concept of an urban distribution truck, thereby devising an entirely new vehicle category. The designers even incorporated intelligent battery and charge management from the outset. To explain their decision, the jurors described how the MAN CitE turns everything upside down: “The sophisticated driver cab design creates an open and transparent atmosphere in the truck driver’s workplace while integrating all communication devices. The exterior design won us over with integrated functional areas and clearly defined bodywork and style elements.” According to the iF experts, this makes the vehicles “utterly innovative and forward-looking.”
Holger Koos, Head of Design at MAN Truck & Bus, explains: “We paid special attention to ergonomics when we designed the vehicle. The low entry point, a completely even driver cab floor, and being able to enter and exit the vehicle via the space-saving swing/sliding door on the co-driver side means we have significantly improved driver comfort in day-to-day delivery operations. At the same time, the vehicle enables optimum all-round vision. This, coupled with a 360-degree camera system, makes driving in the city considerably safer.”
MAN Lion’s City – the new generation of city buses from MAN Truck & Bus
The MAN- and NEOPLAN-branded city buses and coaches, especially, have become synonymous with first-class design. A bus designed by MAN Truck & Bus has now received the iF Design Award for the fourth year in row. This is something no other bus manufacturer has been able to do.
The jury was impressed with its modern and high-end appearance. The bus’s dynamic yet timeless lines give it originality of form while expressing its modular characteristics. The new city bus’s exterior unmistakably ties in with the design language of the MAN bus family.
As well as the distinctive LED headlights with a light band and the classic black MAN front panel with a chrome bar, the characteristically downswept windscreen immediately catches the eye. In addition to making the vehicle more dynamic, it also helps to improve lifecycle costs (LCC). The MAN Lion’s City’s black rear, which is equipped with innovative LED tail lights, is both unmistakably emblematic and offers ideal access to service providers.
As well as giving the new city bus an attractive appearance, new materials and production methods also make it lighter, more robust, and easier to use.
The color & trim concept coupled with an innovative lighting concept made up of both indirect and ambient lighting create an inviting atmosphere inside the bus, which also has disabled access, thus giving it a generous, friendly, and bright feel. The driver’s workplace, which was designed with ergonomics in mind, also scores points in terms of functionality and aesthetics.
Commercial vehicle design – a wide-ranging product portfolio with a creative slant
“We are proud to have received awards both in the truck and the bus segment this year. This proves that MAN’s commercial vehicle design is now considered number one in the world. I believe it is important for our vehicles’ design to convey our brand’s characteristics at all times. This is no walk in the park when you consider that our portfolio is made up of a huge range of vehicles from vans, distribution trucks, and semitrailer tractors all the way to city buses or coaches. Our aim is for everyone to recognize an MAN vehicle as soon as they see one. This means that, for all their differences, our commercial vehicles should look like they’ve been cast in the same mold” – that is how Koos describes his team’s objective.
The iF Design Awards were first introduced in 1953. Established criteria are used to select the winners, including the product’s appearance and form as well as degree of innovation, ergonomics, functionality, and environmental aspects. This is the fourth time in a row MAN Truck & Bus has won over the jury: the 2016 iF Design Award went to the MAN Lion’s Intercity, the 2017 – to the NEOPLAN Tourliner, the 2018 – to the MAN Lion’s Coach, and this year’s accolade was awarded to the MAN Lion’s City bus and the MAN CitE concept truck. MAN won its first ever iF Design Award exactly 65 years ago with a marine diesel engine.
SOURCE: MAN Truck & Bus
