EVwire brief: Megawatt charging has been demonstrated on British soil for the first time, with Scottish hauler John G Russell (Transport) of the Russell Group charging a series-production MAN eTGX from 20% to 90% in just 30 minutes at its Coatbridge railhead depot near Glasgow.
The demonstration used the Megawatt Charging System (MCS) standard, which can deliver up to 3.75 megawatts through a connector rated for 1,250 volts and 3,000 amps. That kind of power turns a statutory 45-minute driver break into a full recharge window.
MAN Truck & Bus UK announced the milestone on LinkedIn:
(Source)
Stephen Madden, Russell Group's fleet engineer, put the speed into operational terms:
These latest MAN MCS-equipped vehicles, with MCS charging capability, can charge their batteries from 20 to 90 percent in just 30 minutes, which is fast enough to fit within the statutory 45-minute driver's break, or turnaround.
The truck at the center of the demonstration is a MAN eTGX 20.544 4x2 tractor. It runs a permanently excited synchronous motor producing 400 kW and 1,250 Nm (922 lb-ft) of torque, paired with six 80-kWh battery packs for a total capacity of 480 kWh. It features both an MCS connection on the kerbside and a CCS charging point on the driver's side.
The MAN eTGX at Russell Group's Coatbridge depot. (Source: MAN Truck & Bus)
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Russell Group took delivery of its first MAN eTGX tractors in September 2025 and added two more in December. The fleet now operates four all-electric MAN trucks, with plans to grow to 14 by early 2027. Madden framed the scale-up as part of a broader push:
As an operator, our drive to become a net-zero company by 2040 is more than a strapline; it's a cornerstone of our business model and is underpinned by our Environmental Policy and Sustainability Strategy.
The UK's first megawatt charging demo drew government and industry officials to Coatbridge. (Source: MAN Truck & Bus)
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Representatives from the Scottish and UK governments, ZENFreight, InnovateUK, OAL Limited, and Scottish Futures Trust attended the event. The Department for Transport is backing the deployment through InnovateUK's ZEHID Programme, which will collect five years of operational data:
The ZEHID Programme, funded by the Department for Transport and delivered by Innovate UK, is delighted to support Russell's in their approach through zero emission vehicles and infrastructure.
Four eTGX tractors running today, 14 by early 2027. (Source: MAN Truck & Bus)
Context:
MAN began series production of MCS-compatible eTGX and eTGS models in Q2 2026, making it one of the first European OEMs to ship megawatt charging as standard. The Russell Group demonstration is the real-world proof point: a paying customer, running revenue freight, charging at megawatt speeds on its own depot infrastructure.
The broader electric truck ecosystem is building fast on both sides of the Atlantic. In North America, Tesla's Megacharger network is expanding along freight corridors, with a Vancouver-to-Mexico zero-emissions freight corridor taking shape along I-5 with 20 charging stations planned. Meanwhile, Google and Nevoya are deploying 63 electric semi trucks on the Houston-Dallas corridor, the largest Class 8 BEV fleet in Texas, with Amazon among the corporate partners funding the effort.
Source: MAN Truck & Bus
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