By R. Natarajan, Managing Editor & Publisher, N. Balasubramanian and Ganesh Kalidas
If trucks, buses, tippers, trailers, tankers and other heavy vehicle applications and technologies fascinate you, then the 65th edition of the IAA Commercial Vehicles show held in Hanover from September 25 to October 2 was definitely an occasion you couldn’t afford to miss. The expo drew the entire global commercial vehicle fraternity under one roof, enthralling them with an apparently inexhaustible number of world premieres, innovations, technologies, and so on.
The show was the largest event for the commercial vehicle space and has evolved into a proving ground for manufacturers of vehicles, components, and other products, as also different technology and solution providers to showcase their strengths and capabilities to a global audience. The latest edition of the show focused on many critical and developmental aspects of the industry, such as reducing CO2 footprint, enhancing vehicle connectivity, and so on.
Addressing over 600 international representatives from the commercial vehicle industry and the media, Mr. Matthias Wissmann, President of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), said: “This 65th IAA Commercial Vehicles is looking a long way into the future. ‘Driving the future’ is its slogan – and the 322 world premieres are an impressive testament to the huge drive for innovation in the commercial vehicle industry. One focus of this IAA is connectivity. The commercial vehicles of the future will be always be ‘online’, communicating with other vehicles, the transport company, and of course the customer. The way to automated driving, including commercial vehicles, was visible to visitors for the first time at the world’s most important trade fair for mobility, transport and logistics. At the same time, this industry is working on further reductions in fuel consumption, and thus in CO2 emissions of commercial vehicles. We are all competing and yet we have a common goal: offering the customer the best and most efficient vehicle.”
Over 2,000 journalists from more than 50 countries reported from IAA. The innovations presented at the show covered all segments, from light vans to heavy trucks, from urban buses to long-distance coaches, and from the manufacturers of trailers and bodies all the way to the numerous suppliers. A staggering total of 82 press conferences were held on September 23 and 24 before the official opening ceremony with the Federal Transport Minister, Mr. Alexander Dobrindt, on September 25.
Mr. Wissmann pointed out that the number of exhibitors had risen by another nine per cent, to 2,066 exhibitors from 45 countries. “And the IAA is more international than ever before – the proportion of international exhibitors (1,216) has reached a new record of 59 per cent,” he emphasised. Two years ago the figure was 55 per cent. The largest number of foreign exhibitors came from China; it has climbed by around one third to 200. The exhibition area also got expanded and covered nearly 265,000 sq. metres this time.
At the ‘Evening of the Commercial Vehicle Press’ for the sixth time – after 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2012 – three of the most prestigious international awards in the commercial vehicle business were presented: the Truck of the Year, the Bus of the Year and the Van of the Year. In each case the judges were renowned commercial vehicle journalists and editors-in-chief from all over Europe who put the products through numerous tests before arriving at a consensus. Renault Trucks T was chosen the International Truck of the Year 2015. The International Bus of the Year 2015 Award went to the MAN Lion’s City GL CNG, a gas-powered articulated bus, and the winner of the International Van of the Year 2015 prize was the Iveco Daily.