MAN goe alone
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• MAN's new truck range for the Nineties, launched this week, marks a big bid for freedom for the West German manufacturer.
It cuts its dependence on Renault Vehic-ules Industriels for heavy truck cab parts and is likely to be followed by a severing or, at least, reduction in its links with Volkswagen for medium-weight trucks.
MAN is still keen to forge links with other commercial vehicle manufacturers, but on its own terms.
Its new range of on-road, forward control trucks has a completely new cab — the F90 — and chassis frame and extensive revisions throughout.
Full production of top weight, sleeper-cabbed lefthand-drive tractive unit and rigid models begins on newly automated production lines at the company's Munich plant within the next month. Righthand-drive models will be in production by February next year.
Over the next two years, all 16 tonne-plus MAN trucks which use the current 25 year-old F8 cab, many of ti parts of which are pressed RVI, will be replaced by ne models with the F90 cab.
This cab, with a conventional pressed steel frame several external plastic panels, is of MAN's own c1( sign and manufacture. The steel pressings come from Gustavsburg plant.
Speaking in West Germa at the launch of the new rai this week, MAN chairman Wilfried Lochte confirmed t negotiations are being held with other unnamed truck manufacturers over joint us of the F90.
"We would be happy to supply the F90 to other makers. With recent agree. ments already announced [I that with Eaton for the join development and marketing a new single reduction axle or Enasa's licensing agreement for building MAN bus in Spain] we have made it clear that we want to cooperate with other manufac turers," he said.
Until the end of this year MAN will build only one ve sion of the F90, a twin-bun sleeper, 2,440mm wide (in mum width of the F8 is 2,300mm) for use on the 362 and 332 models.
However, the F90 is of a modular design which make relatively easy for a range shorter, narrower variants be introduced.
A short day cab, for use a new 282 truck, is schedul to go into production early next year.
also seems likely that an smaller version of the will be used in the future replacement for the :swagen LT cab used on MAN-VW nine to 13 tonne range. MAN's contract t Volkswagen for the MT r,e, which has never been uccessful as both parties
ends in 1987.
he first British models the new range will be 16.362 and 16.332, 4x2 tive units, replacing resively the 19.361 and 21. which are expected to
go on sale from February next year.
Their engines are the latest D 2866 KF/KU, 265 and 243kW (360 and 330hp) versions of MAN's 12-litre, turbocharged and charge-cooled unit which were introduced at the Frankfurt Show last year.
Currently the standard gearboxes for the new IVIANs are the Eaton RIO 11613 or ZE Ecosplit but, by the time righthand-drive models go into production, it is expected that Eaton's Twin Splitter will have replaced the 11613.