The world’s most important trade show for transport, logistics and mobility, the 66th IAA Commercial Vehicles, opens its doors to visitors in Hannover on Thursday, September 22, 2016. A total of 2,013 exhibitors from 52 countries will present their latest developments until September 29. IAA visitors will experience 332 world premieres and 101 European premieres. The IAA is practically fully booked, the area occupied, of 270,000 square meters, is one of the best results since the IAA Commercial Vehicles became a separate exhibition (1992).
The IAA is organized by the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA). VDA President Matthias Wissmann stressed shortly before the opening, “We are very confident as we go to Hannover. We have the right conditions for a successful IAA. This, the world’s most important trade fair, is characterized in particular by the future-oriented topics of digitization, connectivity and automated driving, along with the alternative powertrains. It demonstrates being ‘driven by ideas’ in the truest sense.”
For a long time the commercial vehicle industry has considered itself a provider of services for mobility and logistics. “Digitization and alternative powertrains offer a huge opportunity to make the increasing freight traffic worldwide even more efficient and climate-friendly,” Wissmann underscored.
This IAA is fully living up to its international aspiration. The proportion of foreign exhibitors comes to 61 percent. The five best represented foreign countries are China (229), Italy (145), the Netherlands (121), Turkey (92) and France (85). More than one exhibitor in three comes from Europe (not including Germany), and one in five comes from Asia. The entire international value chain for commercial vehicles is represented here at the IAA, manufacturers of heavy trucks, vans and buses, and trailers and bodies. Also many supply companies and providers of services such as telematics are participating.
So far, around 1,700 journalists from 57 countries have been accredited for the IAA. Almost half of them come from countries other than Germany. On Wednesday, September 21 (Press Day), and on Thursday, September 22 (Press and Opening Day), there will be over 100 press conferences, more than 70 of them on the Wednesday.
Wissmann said, “With the slogan of this year’s IAA ‘Driven by Ideas’ the industry points up the megatrends for which the commercial vehicle sector is presenting its solutions. These trends include, first and foremost, connected and automated driving; here we speak of the “digital transformation” of the whole industry. Then there are the alternative powertrains that are becoming more and more common in commercial vehicles and buses. Electric and hybrid drive, and natural gas are the keywords here. There is “urban logistics” that makes transport and logistics in towns and cities even more efficient and environmentally friendly. To accentuate these topics even more, for the first time we have designated them as special themes for the IAA Commercial Vehicles at the “New Mobility World logistics.”
This new initiative aims to put a stronger focus on the future designs, new logistics concepts, offers and services from the exhibitors, to make them more recognizable to visitors, and to engage the interest of new companies and visitor groups. The New Mobility World logistics is also a multiplier for future logistics and transportation topics. “In this way we are creating a new framework for the dialog between all the stakeholders. These trends in innovation are no longer restricted to individual providers. At this IAA the industry will show the complete range of its progress and commitment in these areas of innovation,” Wissmann said.
An experience all over this year’s IAA – at the exhibitors’ stands and at numerous congresses; the open-air “New Mobility World LIVE” offers IAA visitors dynamic and interactive driving demonstrations. In addition, during the exclusive guided tours the exhibitors will present innovations to the participating trade visitors. Furthermore, about 20 electric vehicles are available for test drives on the exhibition grounds, along with over 40 light and heavy-duty commercial vehicles for test drives on the public roads.
“Digitization is being driven forward by the manufacturers. But here, too, nothing can be done without the suppliers who are also showing great commitment. The goal is clear, connectivity will make transport even more efficient and even safer. When our future digitally connected heavy trucks automatically drive on the freeway in convoys, which we call platooning, it will reduce consumption and simultaneously improve road safety,” Wissmann stressed.
Electric and hybrid drives are not only used in vans and buses, but will also ensure that consumption and CO2 emissions from heavy trucks are brought down even further. Alternative fuels such as natural gas also has the potential to reduce CO2 from trucks. “Connectivity and electric mobility will ensure that in the future urban logistics, that is, the ‘last mile’, can be covered even faster and with zero emissions,” Wissmann explained.
The VDA president underscored: “This IAA shows that we will experience a broad mix of drive trains in the future. Diesels will continue to play a key role in long-distance traffic, that is, in heavy trucks. The latest exhaust after-treatment technology makes them not only efficient and economical, but also clean. Today’s Euro VI trucks and buses have only very low pollutant emissions, both in tests and on the roads. The reduction of these emissions has now been successfully completed in commercial vehicles.”
However, the trend in urban logistics is very clearly moving towards alternative powertrains. “Hybrid and electric vehicles are becoming more and more important. This is true of vans and buses and soon it will also apply to heavy trucks in local distribution,” said Wissmann.
In addition, the IAA is a large congress with 27 specialist events on all relevant topics. These are its “classics” such as the Hazardous Goods Day and load securing, numerous events on digitization, connectivity including the startup forum “Lab16” and urban logistics. There are also several events dedicated to education and training in transport and logistics. The situation on the Western European commercial vehicle market supports the IAA. Last year new registrations of heavy-duty trucks climbed by 14 percent to 259,000, and the market has added another 12 percent in the first seven months of 2016. For the year as a whole a growth of 8 percent is expected, to 280,000 units. China is also expanding, while the US market is taking a break following six years of growth. The markets in Russia and Brazil remain weak. The total global market for commercial vehicles (over 6 t) will increase by 3 percent this year to 2.8 million units.