In a move that will surprise no-one, German truck maker has announced that it is finally going to kill off its ERF brand. Ever since engine manufacturer Cummins decided not to provide a Euro 4 engine suitable for the ERF range of trucks, MAN has been equipping ERF models with its own D20 engine. However, this change to MAN’s Euro 4 engine has resulted in a significant reduction in demand for ERF-badged vehicles.
According to SMMT figures the number of ERFs registered so far this year has dropped 46% to 81 units, down from 150 this time in 2006. MAN ERF says that while significant demand for the ERF brand remained it would respond and keep the brand alive in the . However it says that falling demand plus the introduction of the new MAN TGX and TGS models, means the company has decided to cease production of ERF branded trucks.
Des Evans, CEO of MAN ERF says: “We have always said that while there was a sustainable market demand for the ERF brand, we would continue to build and supply them. Sadly for this historic brand, due to the fact we no longer have a Cummins engine as a differentiator, that demand has shrunk to almost nothing and it is not economically viable to manufacture and market the ERF brand.”
MAN ERF will continue to support its customers, operating around 20,000 ERF trucks on the road today, with the highest levels of back-up. MAN has slowly cut the number of employees at ERF's Middlewich site since it took control of the firm in 2000. In October 2001 it slashed over three hundred workers and then axed another 200 in March 2002 when it decided to end almost 70 years of vehicle manufacturing at ERF.
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