Vans and trailers will be the stars of the show at the CV Show this year. UK market leader Ford as well as Volkswagen will be exhibiting at the show which takes place at the NEC from 24-26 April.
Others will include, Fiat Professional, Isuzu, Iveco, LDV, Renault, and MAN, which unveiled its first van at the CV Show last year.
Ford will display its revised range, including the new Transit Courier, Transit Connect and Transit Custom. It will also be reporting on the development of its the Transit Custom Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle.
With the plug-in hybrid electric Transit Custom van, Ford is targeting a zero-emission range of more than 31 miles and will use the Ford EcoBoost 1.0-litre petrol engine as a range extender to give a total range of some 310 miles. The EcoBoost engine charges the on-board batteries when longer trips are required between charging stops.
Ford had its best ever commercial vehicle sales in 2017 with a 32.2 per cent share in 2017, up from 30.6 per cent in 2016.
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles will launch its new range of Business Edition models at the show. The business packs can be added to Caddy, Transporter and Crafter panel van models, and are comprised of additional specification items that are frequently added by business customers, combined with a competitive price. It has worked with customers to establish the most useful and desirable elements, and also with residual guides to deliver a resale value uplift of up to £450 on models equipped with the packs.
Renault Pro+ Commercial Vehicles will display 13 vehicles, led by the Master ZE, the second all-electric panel van added to its range, with deliveries starting in the fourth quarter of 2018. This uses technology from the Kangoo ZE33 to offer a real world driving range of 74 miles. The Kangoo Van ZE33 will also be making an appearance with a fridge van conversion. Renault Tech is the line of factory fitted conversions offered by Renault, on display from the range will be the Master temperature controlled Pharmaceutical delivery van.
Trailer manufacturers exhibiting include Transdek, Cartwright, Don-Bur, SDC and Tiger Trailers.
While most of the manufacturers are remaining tight-lipped about new developments, there will be a number of new model launches at the three-day event, which attracts over 20,000 visitors from the UK’s transport, distribution and logistics sectors.
Most of the big truck manufacturers are giving the show a miss this year, but there will be a strong presence from trailer manufacturers.
Transdek UK is demonstrating its total double deck solutions expertise with a working scenario of an Urban Wedge Max double deck trailer docked onto a modular V2G (vehicle to ground) load house pod. It will also be exhibiting one of its ambient Wedge Max trailers on stand 3E100.
The Urban Wedge Max trailer offers a capacity of 72 roll cages, and at 10.6-metres long is designed for delivering to retail parks and urban areas where standard trailer lengths are restricted. It carries up to 100 per cent more payload than an equivalent urban artics and 150 per cent more than a typical 18 tonne rigid HGV, giving mileage savings of up to 60 per cent.
Paul Avery, managing director – trailers at Transdek said: “With the growing problem of congestion in urban centres, particularly in major UK cities such as London, Manchester and Aberdeen, our Urban Wedge Max offers a unique solution to reducing the number of vehicles on deliveries by up to 50 per cent to 60 per cent.”
Both double deck trailers feature Transdek’s V-Glide sash type rear doors, which slide vertically within the rear frame, ensuring only one deck is open at a time.
The V2G lift married to the Urban Wedge trailer is a bespoke design produced for a global online retailer that features Transdek Connect, which provides live data for rapid analysis and resolution of technical issues, and full service and maintenance history.
Cartwright will be showcasing the latest designs of their product range as well as new build vehicles. Improved fuel consumption, urban delivery solutions and increased capacity are themes which will feature highly in the Cartwright products being displayed this year, all designed to meet ever increasing market demands. Cartwright Conversions will be running its own stand displaying its most popular welfare and racking vehicles.
Tiger Trailers will showcase another innovative double deck – a three-quarter length, moving deck curtainside trailer. Some 30 per cent of the company’s manufacturing output now double deck trailers. Visitors can also see its new loading solution – the Tiger Deck which has been developed to offer customers a way of speeding up the loading process for any double deck trailer.
At this year’s show, Don Bur will be exhibiting its latest aerodynamic technology and trailer innovations.
TIP, the trailer rental business launched in the UK by Jim Cleary, is celebrating 50 years in the transport industry with an appearance at the show.
Marshall Fleet Solutions will be demonstrating its ICE (Improved Customer Experience) initiative based on the company’s award-winning customer service programme. Marshall Fleet Solutions is the UK’s largest independent refrigeration (including installation), tail lift and commercial vehicle fleet service and support organisation.
Home delivery and urban transport is the theme of the Paneltex stand, with the company displaying three new designs of temperature-controlled bodies on its stand in the Cool 2018 section of the exhibition. Leading the way is a new 11.4m, twin axle, dual compartment Urban Trailer with a self-tracking rear axle. This features a Dearman under-mount refrigeration system with dual evaporators and a zero-emission nitrogen expansion engine.
A wide range of refrigerated vehicles and bodywork, side by side with the latest fridge units, monitoring equipment and other products specific to cold chain operations will be on display in the Cool Zone. Coolertech which designs and manufactures insulated vehicles for the temperature-controlled industry, will display a selection of vehicles from its range. Products range from car-derived vans at the smaller end of the spectrum, right through to 26 tonne insulated box bodies – all designed in-house. It will be displaying both insulated van conversions and box bodies on its stand.
Ingimex, the Telford-based producer of lightweight Tipper, Dropside and Luton bodies, will be displaying its lightweight creations. Ingimex produces bodies for commercial vehicles from Volkswagen, Vauxhall, Iveco, Ford, Nissan, Peugeot, Citroën and Mercedes-Benz, and has been in operation for over 45 years.
Tyre manufacturer Goodyear will be showing its range of products and fleet management services. Its fleet operations management system Proactive Solutions will be the subject of an interactive display, demonstrating the benefits of its predictive technology that reduces tyre costs through preventative maintenance, transport flow optimisation and driver training. Also on stand will be the Goodyear range of vehicle tyres, including the KMAX and FUELMAX offerings, retreads and also van tyres.
Continental Tyres will highlight its operational solutions, designed to help inform fleets, put efficiency and safety first and provide a complete service to complement its comprehensive range of commercial vehicle tyres. ContiPressureCheck, the Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS), as a standalone system or with full telematics integration, is further developed this year, with the roll-out of the group’s ContiYardReader TPMS system this summer. The ContiYardReader system will allow fleet managers to monitor tyre pressures automatically for all vehicles in the yard adding further accuracy to fleet maintenance.
Hankook will be showing concept tyres are from the 2016 Hankook Tyre Design Innovation Programme, dubbed ‘Connect to the Connected World.’ Designed by students from the University of Cincinnati, the three visionary tyres were created to explore ideas around future mobility.
LeasePlan, the global fleet management, finance and mobility company, will be demonstrating three of its latest products that aim to deliver even better results for its customers.
Specialist transport management software provider Mandata will be showing its new cloud and subscription-based transport management system along with other innovations at the show.
Fleet Source will be hosting a FORS Clinic on behalf of the Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme. The Clinic will offer FORS members guidance and support with Senior Auditors available to advise on the FORS Standard, requirements and auditing process.
This article first appeared in Logistics Manager, April 2018
