Monstrous electric trucks, chic minibuses, futuristic garden helpers: in Hanover, the commercial vehicle industry is showcasing vehicles for the transportation of tomorrow. Here are twelve special examples.
Von Jürgen Pander und Martin Wittler
18.09.2024, 22.07 Uhr
A bus whizzes past, two delivery trucks whir in the opposite direction. There is a lot of traffic on the “Expo-Allee” on the exhibition grounds in Hanover – but hardly any noise. Around the halls of the IAA Transportation, the new, quiet world of transportation is already a reality with many electric models.
And there are many more vehicles on display in the halls that are intended to make the future of freight transport on the road cleaner and more economical. Karin Rådström, designated CEO of the Daimler Truck Group, reported astonishing results at the presentation of the new Mercedes eActros 600 electric truck: on a long-distance journey across Europe with a full load, the electric tractor unit consumed 109 kWh per 100 kilometers. This corresponds to the energy value of a good 11 liters of diesel. On average, a diesel truck consumes more than twice as much per 100 kilometers.
Efficiency is the word of the hour in the commercial vehicle industry – this is evident at almost every stand at this IAA Transportation. Buses, trucks, vans and refuse collection vehicles simply have to pay for themselves.
The second trend is that many companies are no longer just adorning themselves with flowery sustainability promises, but are presenting products ready for series production that fulfill them. These range from electric four-ton trucks to design details aimed at reducing emissions of all kinds. One example of this is a new high-performance fan for electric trucks from Stuttgart-based supplier Mahle. Its fan blades are modeled on the shape of an owl’s wings. This reduces the fan’s noise emissions by more than half. Another contribution to the new, quiet world of transportation.
