Interview with Fabian Schöffel, MAN Truck & Bus
“Most city bus routes can be electrified without opportunity charging”
After completing his studies in industrial engineering, he pursued a Master’s degree in Technology and Management at the Technical University of Munich.
MAN
For electric city buses, battery life, charging infrastructure and operational flexibility are becoming key economic factors. Fabian Schöffel of MAN Truck & Bus explains why larger batteries and overnight charging are becoming key factors.
MAN has continued to develop its approach to electric city buses, from in-house battery pack production to charging and operational strategies. Fabian Schöffel is responsible for the decarbonization strategy within the company’s Bus Product Strategy Division. In this role, he oversees strategic product planning for alternative drive systems.
At Automotive Battery Conference 2026, he will present “eBus in the Fast Lane: MAN’s Successful Transition from Diesel to Battery Power”, examining why MAN produces battery packs in Germany, how simulations, testing and real-world data are improving battery lifetime expectations, and why larger battery capacities can provide greater operational flexibility.
Ahead of the conference, we spoke with Schöffel about charging infrastructure, battery lifetime and the economic conditions shaping the further adoption of electric buses.
The Automotive Battery Conference 2026 agenda spans resilience, scalable manufacturing, battery safety, lifecycle value and charging. Which issue will most decisively shape the battery and e-mobility industry over the next five years, and why?
Charging infrastructure for long-distance applications such as coaches will be the most decisive issue over the next five years. Higher vehicle voltage levels and charging power will enable faster charging, but the availability of reliable charging infrastructure and sufficient grid capacity will ultimately determine how quickly these applications can be electrified. At the same time, scalable manufacturing will be essential. We are already addressing this through the modular production process at our battery plant in Nuremberg.
Your eBus case combines in-house pack production, lifetime learning and overnight charging. Which of these three levers has made the biggest difference to the commercial viability of battery-electric buses, and why?
For city buses, the decision to focus on overnight charging has made the biggest difference, as it provides operators with maximum operational flexibility. Thanks to the rapid increase in battery capacity in recent years, most city bus routes can now be electrified without opportunity charging or operational restrictions. Battery lifetime has also improved significantly, and with the right battery technology, the battery can last for the full service life of the vehicle. In this regard, overnight charging is additionally beneficial because lower charging power generally supports battery longevity.
In the context of the panel ‘Quo vadis Battery Industry in Germany?’, why was in-house battery pack production in Germany strategically important for MAN – and which capabilities or data would have been hardest to build with a purchased pack?
Our decision to develop and produce battery packs in-house was driven by the strategic importance of the battery as a core component of an electric vehicle, comparable to the role of the diesel engine in conventional trucks and buses. In-house development allows us to tailor the battery system to the specific requirements of heavy-duty applications and to use the available installation space efficiently through vehicle-specific pack designs. It also enables us to build proprietary expertise, reduce our dependence on suppliers and maintain direct responsibility for product performance and the supply chain. The capabilities that would have been hardest to develop with a purchased pack are detailed knowledge of battery behaviour under real-world operating conditions and the associated data required to optimise lifetime, safety and performance. This expertise also provides a strong foundation for second-life applications, refurbishment and recycling.
You say simulations, testing and real-world data have increased battery lifetime expectations. How do you combine these three sources to update ageing models without overfitting them to current fleet usage?
We use vehicle simulations to derive the required energy throughput and the relevant input parameters for our ageing models. These models are then validated through our lifetime testing concept, which reproduces the required energy throughput under controlled conditions. Finally, we use real-world fleet data to correlate simulated usage with observed usage. This allows us to verify whether our assumptions are sufficiently conservative and whether we are accurately representing battery ageing across different operating conditions.
Larger batteries and overnight charging increase operational flexibility, while Day 2 looks at high-power charging. Where is the economic optimum for a bus operator between carrying more battery capacity and investing in charging power and depot infrastructure?
The economic optimum depends on the specific operating profile and should be assessed based on total cost of ownership. High-power charging is particularly important for long-distance heavy-duty applications such as trucks and coaches, which is why we have developed Megawatt Charging System (MCS) capability for our vehicles. For city buses, however, high-power charging is less relevant because overnight charging can cover the majority of use cases. A sufficiently large battery allows operators to use vehicles flexibly across different routes without depending on charging infrastructure along the route. As battery costs per kWh continue to decrease and energy density improves, this approach is likely to become even more attractive. Nevertheless, additional battery capacity should only be selected where its operational value outweighs the associated cost and weight.
Which operating parameter has the greatest influence on battery lifetime in an electric city bus: depth of discharge, charging power, temperature, route profile, dwell time or driver behaviour – and how much can fleet operators actively control it?
The operating parameters with the greatest influence on battery lifetime are charging power, temperature and the route profile. Operators can actively influence battery lifetime by using lower-power overnight charging, preconditioning the vehicle while it is connected to the charger and planning operations to avoid unnecessarily demanding usage patterns.
Which other agenda topic intersects most with your own, and what would you ask that speaker or panel?
The agenda topic most closely connected to my own is charging infrastructure. My question would be: How can vehicle manufacturers, charging infrastructure providers, grid operators, policymakers and customers collaborate to ensure that sufficient charging infrastructure and grid capacity are available to support the ramp-up of electric vehicles in long-distance applications?
