Niklas Klingenberg has been working in the group for about 25 years. He spent much of his career rising through the ranks at Scania before moving to a key role at Traton in 2023, where he has since been coordinating and aligning research and development at group level. Klingenberg is, therefore, the man who will shape the commercial vehicles of tomorrow and, according to the Swede, these will above all be battery electric.
In his conversation with EV editor Cora Werwitzke, it quickly became clear that Klingenberg thinks broadly in terms of vehicle platforms from various brands, while also wanting to keep an open mind about future market dynamics. One indication of this is that Traton’s top development executive tells us that the company is now also working on LFP batteries, definitely a first for Traton, whose development work has so far been dominated by NMC.
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Klingenberg, Scania and MAN have recently improved the energy density of their truck batteries and now have a range on paper of up to 720 km. I’m sure your developers have played a big role in that, right?
Yes, our team develops batteries for all the group’s brands. In the case of Scania and MAN, we have worked closely with the supplier. We have been doing this for many years. This close collaboration has been successful. What is relatively new is that, since mid-2025, we have consolidated our R&D expertise (for example in the field of battery technology) into a single corporate function. For this reason, the batteries and charging systems team also develops solutions for different brands around the world.
Why does a multi-brand approach under the Traton roof specifically for batteries and charging systems make sense?
Batteries and charging systems require substantial investment and offer significant economies of scale. A multi-brand approach reduces costs, accelerates innovation and allows each TRATON GROUP brand to meet the specific needs of its customers.
Thanks to improved batteries, your electric trucks have more power on board. To what extent does this improve the competitiveness of vehicles? And why was it important to achieve a range of more than 700 km?
We are convinced that, with this new technology, we are currently very competitive in the market. And more important than autonomy is always the question of how and where our customers drive their trucks; in other words, the specific use case. The range provides peace of mind above all else. Customers want to have enough reserve power to handle their transportation requests. And depending on the route, drivers may need to be able to drive for at least four and a half hours straight. And in some cases it can be difficult to find a charging station. The great autonomy makes it possible to cover, for example, the entire daily driving cycle.
Is 720 kilometers the limit?
It is likely that in some cases even more than 700 kilowatt-hours will be needed on board. I think, depending on customer needs, we will see even higher numbers in the future. And that’s exactly what we’re focused on: trying to figure out what different use cases our customers have and how we can help them in their operations.
Traton remains committed to NMC battery chemistry. Not thinking about LFP batteries? Many competitors have switched to the LFP.
Yes, absolutely.
Would it be difficult to change the battery chemistry at this stage in the development of electric trucks?
Simply changing the battery chemistry overnight would really be impossible. However, what we can do is develop new batteries using LFP chemistry. And that’s exactly what we’re working on now.
Now, its development team is not only following the path of BEV development, but also other technological paths. Scania is also experimenting with range extenders, pantograph systems and hydrogen. How important is it to keep your options open?
We want to understand what different technologies are capable of and how they can help reduce CO2 emissions as quickly as possible. Take the range extender as an example: while this system is not a CO2 neutral technology, it contributes significantly to reducing emissions compared to conventional internal combustion engine technology. The same applies to the pantograph, i.e. charging via an overhead cable. We have carried out tests in both Sweden and Germany to see if this technology can be implemented on a large scale. That is why we are promoting several pilot projects to see what is really possible.
And hydrogen?
There may be some use cases where hydrogen can play a role and we are also conducting research in this area, although the hydrogen route is not our main focus. We are fully committed to battery electric vehicles – that is Traton’s main focus.
Is it possible to say which approach would be the most promising after BEVs?
Right now I would say gas or biodiesel. This is an approach that can reduce CO2 emissions here and now. In the long term, BEV is the technology we believe in, both from a technology standpoint and in terms of total cost of ownership for our customers.
What about battery changing stations? Is that something you’re keeping an eye on?
Well, it is mainly the battery manufacturers that are driving battery swapping technology. For us it is not a priority, but of course we pay close attention to market development. Since we have production and commercial operations in China, we can observe these paths quite well, since that is where this technology is developing most rapidly. Bottom line: We’re watching what becomes the standard and preparing to respond, but so far, we’re not convinced that battery swapping will be the technology that dominates the market.
Speaking of China: is the new competition in Europe putting more pressure on your development team?
I think so. More and more competitors are entering the European market: Tesla and several Chinese competitors. We are preparing to face this competition.
In your opinion, how important is collaboration between manufacturers in this situation?
I consider it extremely important. In China, with our new “Next Era” product range, we are doing a lot of development work for the local market. There, we quickly learned how close the collaboration is in China between the supply chain, ecosystem and OEMs. Also in Europe we have a long tradition of close cooperation with our suppliers, but I believe that we must intensify this and cooperate even more closely in the future to be able to compete with the competition that will enter the European market. All of us in the European ecosystem have to level up our game a little to face this competition.
Do you also offer BEVs in China with Traton brands?
We are represented in China by both Scania and MAN; Scania is also represented by the new ‘Next Era’ product range I mentioned, which was launched earlier this year. But no, the portfolio there does not include BEVs. Not yet, if I may add.
Mr. Klingenberg, thank you very much for the interview.
