MAN wins first-ever Truck Innovation Award

MAN Truck & Bus has won the inaugural Truck Innovation Award for 2019 in recognition of its aFAS Level 4 automated driverless safety truck. The award was handed over to Joachim Drees, CEO of MAN Truck & Bus, at the IAA Commercial Vehicle Show in Hanover, Germany, yesterday.

The new award acknowledges the enormous technological change that is evidenced within the field of commercial vehicles. It is awarded by the International Truck of the Year (IToY) jury, a group made up of commercial vehicle editors and senior journalists, representing major trucking magazines from Europe and South Africa (FOCUS’s own Cherleen Clark being the only African member).

The aFAS – this acronym stands for “automated driverless safety vehicle for jobs on Federal motorways” – is a highly innovative safety solution developed by MAN over a period of four years, with the support of the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and with the involvement of technical institutions and several key component supplier-partners.

With a winning score of 93 votes, MAN’s aFAS fought off competition from the Mercedes-Benz eActros, Volvo Trucks’ FL/FE electric trucks, Renault Trucks’ second-generation electric trucks, DAF’s Ecochamps and ZF’s Innovation Truck.

A Truck Innovation Award nominee must be an advanced-technology vehicle, with a gross vehicle weight over 3,5 t. It should either feature an alternative driveline – hybrid, hybrid range-extender, all-electric – or have an alternative-fuel system such as liquefied natural gas (LNG), compressed natural gas (CNG), or hydrogen fuel cells.

Alternatively, it must feature specific high-tech solutions when it comes to connectivity – whether semi- or fully autonomous driving systems, a platooning capability, or advanced support services such as remote diagnostics.

During a recent exclusive press event in Linz, Austria, the IToY jury members were given an in-depth overview of the aFAS project. Furthermore, the jury had the opportunity to assess the Level 4 unmanned protective truck. The highly innovative vehicle – a MAN TGM 18.340 – automatically follows another truck engaged in maintenance works on highways.

Charleen Clarke, editorial director of FOCUS, was among those to get a first-hand impression of this vehicle. “I sat in the passenger seat, while the MAN took me for a drive. It’s a remarkable sensation. This vehicle is exceptionally impressive. It is industry leading in terms of technology and, very importantly, it can save lives,” she says.

You can read her full report here.

The IToY journalists were impressed to discover that the aFAS has already been tested, without any accident, on public roads covering more than 4 000 km. Jury members also commented favourably on the fact that the aFAS can save lives, because mobile construction sites on motorways pose a high risk to site personnel, since serious rear-end collisions are common.

Furthermore, they gave the thumbs-up to the ease of operation, high level of active safety and extensive use of series components. In addition, they remarked on the fact that this is the first Level 4 driverless vehicle on public roads in Europe.

Summing up the jury vote, IToY chairman, Gianenrico Griffini, commented: “With the aFAS project, MAN has not only delivered an effective solution to protect mobile construction sites, but it has also gained important insight for the future technical development of fully automated driving vehicles.”