Industry gears up for 2017 CV Show

This year’s Commercial Vehicle Show is shortly upon us, with more than 450 exhibitors signed up to showcase their wares at the NEC Birmingham on 25-27 April.

The size of the CV Show 2017 will be such that venue bosses have made an additional 5,000 square metres of space available in Hall 3 to meet the increased demand.

Vehicle manufacturers confirmed to be attending the event include MAN for the first time since 2014, with a complete range of new products, covering gross weights from three to 250 tonnes.

The VW Group subsidiary will give its new TGE van its UK debut, ahead of the order book opening in May for June production of right-hand drive models; pricing information will be available on the stand.

Alongside the VW-derived van will be representatives of MAN’s heavy truck product line ranging from the TGL crew-cab to a new range of right-hand drive heavy-haulage tractors with gross weights of up to 250 tonnes.

Other news will include the launch of the top-of-the-range 640 hp engine in normal haulage 6×2 chassis with a new torque rating of 3000Nm; this has hitherto any been available in heavy-haulage tractors, along with a 500 hp rating for the D26 engine. There’s a new limited edition tractor unit, too.

The new cab exteriors and interiors revealed at last year’s IAA Show will be seen in right-hand drive form for the first time.

Driver aids include automatic headlamp and windscreen wiper activation on all models, and a new infotainment system which offers a wide range of new features such as digital radio reception, effective traffic information, connection options for different auxiliary devices and a truck-specific navigation function upon request.

Competing for the role of star of the stand will be two tractor units.

Representing the limited-edition PerformanceLine offering will be a TGX 26.640 6×2/2 BLS tractor unit with XXL cab. This is the first MAN ‘normal haulage’ model to feature the D38 engine at the 640 hp 3,000 Nm rating, and is likely to be the most powerful truck on display at the show.

There’s an external styling package including anthracite mirror casings and radiator guard, chrome horizontal fins, a sunvisor and twin air horns. The show model will also have upper and lower light bars.

The interior features an exclusive blue colour scheme with leather trim and brushed aluminium highlights.

Alongside this will be a 120-tonne four-axle TGX BLS XXL heavy-haulage tractor unit featuring a 580 hp 2,900 Nm version of the D38 engine driving a retarder-equipped ZF/MAN Tipmatic gearbox through a torque convertor. This truck features high-spec interior and exterior trim and will be finished in the colours of new owner Hogg International Transport.

The tractor line-up is completed with a TGX 26.500 6×2/2 push-axle with XLX cab. This has a high spec leather interior.

Representing the lighter end of the truck range is a TGL 12.220 4×2 destined for Lantern Recovery. It has a six-passenger crew cab.

The TGE van/light truck range will be represented by a front-wheel drive crew-cab tipper with a GVW of 3.5 tonnes, a mobile workshop-spec front-wheel drive 3.5 tonne panel van with windows, and a rear-wheel drive, high-roof 5.5 tonne panel van.

Market-leading manufacturer DAF Trucks will also be making its biennial appearance, and has extended an invitation to operators to bring their drivers to its stand in Hall 5.

Marketing manager Phil Moon said: “We alternate an appearance at the show with a programme of ride-and-drive events every second year. The show gives us an opportunity to meet thousands of potential customers, and we will have a continual programme of technical presentations taking place in our new show trailer.

“This year, for the first time, we will be promoting used Euro 6 trucks. Our Euro 6 vehicles aren’t just environmentally-friendly, they also boast a huge range of driver aids and other features that have not been seen on earlier models.

“And that’s why we’d welcome operators bringing some of their drivers to meet us on the stand. Operators normally bring their fleet engineers, so there is no reason why they should not bring senior or lead drivers. Besides the usual sales and technical people on the stand, this year we will also have the driver trainers who are now based at our dealers and form an integral part of the sales and service process.

“As Euro 6 trucks are now appearing in some numbers on the used market, we feel it is more important than ever to inform drivers about what they can actually do to make their jobs easier and more efficient. One of the problems with used trucks is that the customer often doesn’t benefit from the formal handover and driver briefing which a new truck customer now gets as a matter of course.”

Phil Moon promised “new and exciting news on products and services” at the Show.

Other manufacturers attending the CV Show will include Citroën UK, Fiat Professional, Ford, Isuzu UK, Iveco, LDV, Mitsubishi, Peugeot, Renault UK, SsangYong, Toyota and Volkswagen.

Bodywork specialists and trailer and tanker builders will also be prominent this year, with Cartwright Group, Don-Bur,  Feldbinder UK, Lawrence David, Maisonneuve, Magyar, Montracon, RTN Group, SDC Trailers, Tiger Trailers and Whale Tankers all taking space.

The event will also see German trailer-maker Kögel return to the UK market, having appointed third-party trailer lease and rental company TransUK of Tamworth as its British agent.

Kögel’s main factory in Burtenbach, Germany has around 600 employees and produces about 13,000 trailers a year. There is an additional plant in the Czech Republic producing trailer frames and undertaking final assembly.

The company’s initial UK thrust will be with the Mega FlexiUse, which features a curtainside body with adjustable height. The maximum internal height is three metres.

Other product offerings include a lightweight trailer weighing less than five tonnes, reefer and dry-freight box vans and platform trailers for construction materials. There are tipper trailers too. A wide range of axles, including Kögel’s own KTA, are offered, with most trailers being delivered with SAF running gear.

Kögel was last actively promoted in the UK over a decade ago: key account director Paul de Jong said the company’s USP was the use of high-strength, low-weight steels and other materials.

“Even if a load is not payload critical, saving weight on the trailer reduces the fuel consumption of the truck,” he pointed out.

He said that although it had not been active in the UK in recent years, Kögel trailers were still a familiar sight on British roads as they were popular with European hauliers.

“So far, we have sold 85 trailers, just by doing nothing. We aim for 250 trailers in our first year back. We expect to sell in batches of five or 10 initially, but if we do a big fleet deal before the Commercial Vehicle Show, then we will park them all up outside!”

A wide selection of temperature-controlled products and services will be on show in Hall 3a’s Cool Pavilion, with specialist trailer and bodybuilders including Chereau, Coolertech, Coolkit, Gray & Adams, Paneltex and Solomon Commercials, and refrigeration equipment suppliers Carrier Transicold, Thermo King and Frigoblock.

Also this year, Hall 3 will feature the CV Show Innovation Lab for the first time, featuring daily seminars on a range of topics and developments relevant to the sector

As well as the vehicles themselves, Show-goers will be greeted by a vast array of ancillary products, from tyres to training to telematics – while the specialist Workshop area in Hall 4, aimed at the maintenance and repair sector, will have all manner of workshop equipment on display.

We’ll be covering a cross-section of the equipment and services on offer across the NEC over the coming weeks. All the latest information, and free registration for tickets, is available at the CV Show website.