What MAN actually changed
The battery is the headline. MAN raised the nickel content in the cells, which yields about 10% more usable energy in exactly the same physical space — no bigger packs, no lost payload. The 4x2 tractor goes from 570 km to roughly 660 km on that change alone.
The 720 km figure belongs to the three-axle 6x2. There, a seventh battery pack stands upright behind the cab, bringing the truck to 660 kWh net. MAN's CTO Frederik Zorn put the ambition plainly: there is now barely a 40-tonne job left that cannot be done electrically.
- ✓720 km on the 6x2 with seven packs · 660 kWh net
- ✓660 km on the 4x2, up from 570 km
- ✓Nose extended by 120 mm — 3% better energy efficiency on the electric, up to 2% less fuel on the diesel TGX
- ✓Motor up to 600 hp
- ✓Dashboard dropped by 40 mm, deeper windscreen, optional extra window in the passenger door — better sight of cyclists and pedestrians
Where that leaves the Windrose
The Windrose R700 has been the reference truck in this model because of its price: around €198k against roughly €320k for the eTGX. On range the MAN now wins clearly — 720 km against the R700's ~670 km loaded, which this model treats as 500–550 km in real work.
But range is not what decides the business case here. On a Belgian duty of 100 000 km a year, both trucks comfortably do a day's work on one overnight charge at the depot. Neither needs to charge on the road. The extra 50–170 km of the MAN buys headroom and peace of mind — it does not buy a euro of running cost.
Price does decide it. That gap of roughly €122k per truck has to be earned back out of fuel and tolls, and on an 80-truck fleet it is €9.8 million of extra capital going in the door. Run the two side by side below and watch what happens to the payback line.
What you are looking at
Every panel is the full business case, identical in every assumption except the truck. Choose how many trucks and which ones in the dark bar; change anything else there and all panels recalculate together, so you are never comparing different scenarios by accident. Everything else — tolls, maintenance, residual value, the road charge in all thirteen zones — stays as calibrated for Belgium.
One caveat, stated plainly. Inside this model the only thing that differs between trucks is the purchase price. Consumption, maintenance and residual value are treated the same for every make. That is why the difference between two panels always comes out at exactly their price gap — €122 000 between the MAN and the Windrose. What the comparison genuinely shows is whether that price gap still pays back under your fleet size, mileage and fuel price. It does not claim one truck is cheaper to run than another; nobody publishes figures solid enough to make that claim honestly. The published figures for each truck, with their sources, are on the sheets.
| MAN eTGX 2026 | Windrose R700 | |
|---|---|---|
| Range, best version | 720 km | 676 km loaded |
| Range, realistic | 500–550 km | 500–550 km |
| Battery | 660 kWh net | 729 kWh |
| Axles for that range | 6x2, 7 packs | 4x2 |
| Power | up to 598 hp | 1040–1400 hp |
| Price | ~€320 000 est. | €198 000 |
| Available | shown at IAA 2026 | deliveries under way |
Every figure here, with its source and how firm it is, sits on the model pages: MAN eTGX and Windrose R700. In short: the MAN’s range and battery come from MAN’s own press conference; its price is our estimate. The Windrose price of €198 000 is Windrose’s published European list price — the $250–300k in US coverage is the American price, which carries import tariffs of up to 70%. Windrose’s power and range figures vary between sources, so a spread is shown.