MAN eTrucks Are Only About Half as Loud as Diesel Trucks

MAN Truck & Bus is taking part in the “Mobility Study on Low-Noise Logistics” being undertaken by the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML and funded by the North Rhine-Westphalia State Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Transport. The project’s objective is to create guidelines for measuring noise emissions during delivery operations.

MAN participated in real-world testing with a pre-production model of the new eTruck, which will be made available to consumers for the first time in 2024. As a result, people perceive electric trucks as being just slightly louder than comparable diesel trucks, especially when traveling at modest speeds.

According to Michael Wirtz, project manager of the measurements at Peutz Consult GmbH:

“Based on the measurements, the level for the eTruck is about 6 dB lower for steady passing at 20 km/h. If one takes into account here that the diesel truck measured here is about 5 dB quieter at 20 km/h than the typical approach from the literature, the difference between the eTruck and the literature approach increases to 11 dB. The eTruck is thus about half as loud as a classic diesel truck in terms of auditory impression. For the accelerated approach, there was an even more significant level difference between the two trucks of 12 dB.”

In order to be able to classify the noise development of the MAN eTruck even better, Wirtz draws a comparison with conventionally driven passenger cars.

“With a sound power level of approx. 49 dB(A)/m at 20 km/h, the eTruck is only 1dB ‘louder’ than the passenger car with 48 dB(A)/m.”

A favorable balance is also drawn by Dr. Christoph Jeßberger, Product Strategy Manager at MAN:

“With the MAN eTruck, we want to make a positive contribution to people and nature. We do this primarily with the local freedom from emissions, but also with the clearly perceptible noise reduction. The measurements show: Our new MAN eTrucks could also be used during off-peak hours, i.e., late in the evening or early in the morning. This means they open up a very wide range of uses and a high degree of flexibility for our customers. This means to use up to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – provided the legal framework is in place.”

Several measurements were taken on the MAN test track in Munich, which is where the data for it was gathered. The MAN eTruck and a MAN TGX 18.510 powered by a traditional diesel engine were put onto a track, and the noise levels of each vehicle were recorded. Semi-trailer vehicles with a combined weight of 40 tonnes were the ones in concern. The measurements were completed by workers at the recognized measurement facility Peutz Consult GmbH for Fraunhofer IML. On the right and left sides of the carriageway, each 7.5 meters apart, they placed calibrated handheld sound level meters. The study is anticipated to be published in the early months of 2024.