First introduced on 18 April 2013 with a demonstrator unit, the MAN A24 marked a significant milestone in the history of SMRT Buses; it was the first articulated (bendy) bus purchased by SMRT Buses since the O405Gs in TIBS's era over a decade ago, has a fully low-floor configuration and is wheelchair accessible. A production order was announced by SMRT Buses a year later on 2 April 2014, where 39 additional A24 articulated buses were delivered by end of 2015. These A24 production units were registered SMB8001E to SMB8039Y.

Delivered by ST Kinetics, the bodywork for the A24 was supplied by Gemilang Coachworks from Malaysia using Alcan's EcoRange aluminum-based technology. The exterior design was roughly based on the integral 'Lion's City GL' seen in European countries and was marketed in Singapore as such, but in reality the bus is 18m in length and the bodywork was built and assembled at Gemilang's factory in Senai, Johor Bahru. However, it is marketed by its local dealer as a Lion's City product.

Its Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) and PM-Kat filter technology (the latter developed by MAN) does away the need for additives in exhaust treatment, while still able to meet the Euro V emission standards. All MAN A24 buses delivered to SMRT Buses are powered by the MAN D2066LUH-33 diesel engine (10,518cc), the most powerful of all public buses at 265 kW, and fitted with 4-speed Voith D864.5 automatic transmission (without Sensotop except SMB388S).

Production A24 buses also received Denso LD8i air-conditioning, Mobitec EDS, and adjustable air-con lourves. They all sport SMRT's latest pixel livery. The demonstrator unit was joined by its first production unit (SMB8001E) on Route 190 (Choa Chu Kang to New Bridge Road) from 15 March 2015. SMRT has indicated that it intends to deploy these articulated buses on feeder routes in the long term.