MAN to partner with startups for new transportation solutions

MAN truck and bus plans to tie up with startups to find and foster innovative concepts for its own business

Autocar Professional BureauBy Autocar Professional Bureau calendar 20 Mar 2019 Views icon5328 Views Share - Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to LinkedIn Share to Whatsapp
MAN to partner with startups for new transportation solutions

MAN Truck and Bus organised a startup pitch event at MAN Truck Forum in Munich to undertake a transition from a leading commercial vehicles manufacturer to a provider of intelligent and sustainable transportation solutions. It is organised in cooperation with the European Innovation Council (EIC). The company is focusing on brand new digital customer services, among other things.

Along with developers of pioneering transmissions for electric trucks (Mazaro from Belgium) or innovative battery management systems (Insplorion from Sweden), this also included OneWatt, a Dutch company whose ‘Embedded Acoustic Recognition Sensors’ or EARS use artificial intelligence to analyse motor noise with precision – so much so that they can identify problems before they even become problems.

The pitch event had brought together 18 international startups working in the fields of electric mobility, connected transportation and intelligent supply chains. The Munich-based manufacturer intends to find and foster innovative concepts for its own business. As part of the event, MAN looked for fresh ideas it could integrate into its existing product, service, and process portfolio or include in the development of new business models.

85 startups from the whole of Europe had applied to take part in the Munich event. 18 of them were selected to present their ideas in front of 150 leading MAN employees and Group partners. Innovative founders traveled from 12 different countries, including Portugal, Belgium, and even Finland. They brought unusual ideas in the fields of electric mobility, connected transportation & new mobility, intelligent operations and supply chain, smart maintenance & inspection, or data analytics & competitive intelligence, all of which MAN Truck and Bus expects to provide fresh ideas for its own business.

Along with developers of pioneering transmissions for electric trucks (Mazaro from Belgium) or innovative battery management systems (Insplorion from Sweden), this also included OneWatt, a Dutch company whose Embedded Acoustic Recognition Sensors or EARS use artificial intelligence to analyse motor noise with precision – so much so that they can identify problems before they even become problems. This can prevent motor damage and downtimes. German startup ONO has devised a futuristic electric cargo bike for the last-mile transportation of goods. Other ideas included optimised route planning (Bestmile from Sweden), robot programming (Cambrian Intelligence, UK), or 3D accident prevention sensors (fastree 3D, Switzerland).

The EIC Corporate Day forms part of the SME Instrument Business Acceleration Services, which are provided on behalf of the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME). This institution was set up by the European Commission to manage several EU programs in the fields of SME support & innovation, environment, climate action, and energy on its behalf. The SME Instrument is part of the European Innovation Council pilot (EIC pilot) that aims to support top-class innovators, entrepreneurs, small companies, and scientists with bright ideas. In this respect, the SME Instrument’s main focus is on innovations that have the potential to create new markets and jobs, generate growth, and facilitate a higher standard of living.

RELATED ARTICLES
Volkswagen Group sells 465,500 BEVs worldwide in first-half 2025, up 47%

auther Autocar Professional Bureau calendar10 Jul 2025

With strong growth in Europe (+89%) and the USA (+24%), despite a sales decline in China (-34%), the VW Group’s global B...

Skoda begins sale of made-in-India CKD Kushaq in Vietnam

auther Autocar Professional Bureau calendar30 Jun 2025

Before production started, pre-series Kushaq vehicles covered over 330,000 kilometres on a variety of Vietnamese roads a...

Six Japanese companies join forces to expand use of recycled materials in new vehicles

auther Autocar Professional Bureau calendar30 Jun 2025

Denso, Toray Industries, Nomura Research Institute, Honda Motor, Matec Inc and Rever Corporation have set up the BlueReb...