MAN Truck & Bus ramps up services in Korea in sales push

MAN Truck & Bus, a leading German commercial vehicle manufacturer, is enhancing its customer services in the South Korean market, focusing on digitalization and expanding service networks to boost this year's sales.

This initiative is part of the company’s broader “MAN Core 360 strategy,” an integrated, customer-oriented strategy. In July, it will launch the “My MAN Korea” mobile application, which offers accident repair cost estimates and vehicle function manuals as well as a feature for booking vehicle maintenance.

“This marks the first for a foreign commercial vehicle brand to offer such convenience features,” said MAN Truck & Bus Korea CEO Peter Andersson during a press conference held in a hotel in Seoul on Thursday.

With the opening of the Icheon service center in Gyeonggi Province in the fourth quarter, the total number of service centers will rise to 23, up from the previous 22. The centers in Yongin, Sejong, and the most recently opened one in Busan are directly operated by the company. The remaining 20 centers are managed in partnership with other firms.

To improve its sales structure, the company also launched MAN Korea Financial Service last July to offer customer-tailored financial solutions, thereby reducing their purchasing burden. Jesper Nystrom, director of Traton & MAN Financial Services, highlighted the success of the service, noting that it achieved a twofold increase in its user rate.

With these upgrades, Andersson said the Korean unit is targeting a turnaround, expecting a positive market upturn beginning in the second half of this year. While the company declined to disclose last year’s earnings, it was reported to have suffered from high interest rates in Korea.

Andersson stressed that the country’s automotive industry is expected to rebound, already witnessing a 3 percent increase in the number of newly registered dump trucks in the first quarter.

In addition, Thomas Hemmerich, head of international sales at MAN Truck & Bus, hinted at a possible collaboration with Korean battery companies. The company is accelerating its push for electrification, with its Nuremberg factory starting battery packaging for electrified trucks and buses.

“Currently, we source battery cells from China. However, there’s always an opportunity to source from other areas of the world — for example, Korea — if the performance and the pricing meet our expectations,” said Hemmerich.