Hanover CV Show 2010 Show Report

Show Report: IAA CV Show 2010 Hannover

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The bi-annual IAA Hanover Commercial Vehicle Show is the biggest of its type in Europe and this year’s event had a decidedly ‘green’ tinge. But before we get to the swathe of eco vans rolled out at the event there was the announcement of the Fiat Doblò Cargo as the International Van of the Year for 2011 (see News Story) and an unveiling on the Nissan stand that grabbed the headlines; the NV400.

Nissan
NV400 will replace the Interstar when it comes to the UK next summer and although originally it was intended to be based on a unique Nissan global platform, intervening economic conditions dictated a change of plan.

It will be based on a shared platform from Alliance partner Renault; that of the all-new Master which is also sold by Vauxhall as the Movano.

Like the Master it will be built in the Renault factory in Batilly, France, it will use the same engines and will be available with either front- or rear-wheel drive.

To differentiate NV400 from its close relatives and give it a ‘Nissan’ personality the front-end has been completely redesigned. The work was undertaken at Nissan Design Europe in Paddington, London, with the necessary engineering work carried out at the Nissan Technical Centre Europe in Cranfield, Bedfordshire.

Not to be outdone by its new big brother, the NV200 was making its presence felt with the news that its 85hp diesel engine is being upgraded to Euro 5 and will be joined by a 110hp version early in the new year.

A refrigerated model will also join the range at the beginning of 2011. With a load capacity of 2.2m³ the conversion will be done by Gruau at its facility in close proximity to the Nissan plant in Barcelona.

Nissan was also displaying an NV200 fitted with its 360° Around View Monitor system. Mini cameras mounted on the vehicle allow the driver to have a bird’s eye view all around the van displayed on the dashboard.

The big news, though, is that an all-electric zero emission NV200 will hit the streets in 2013, using many of the same technologies found on the Leaf passenger car which goes on sale next year.

Renault

Alliance partner Renault, however, is going to beat Nissan to the market with an electric van. The Kangoo ZE (Zero Emission) took pride of place on the stand at Hannover and it’s coming to the UK in the summer of 2011.

With a range of up to 100 miles and a 650kg payload it will cost around £17,000 (excl VAT) and the Li-ion battery pack will be leased for about £80/month. It sits under the load floor so doesn’t steal any of the 3.0m³ load space.

Naturally, the new Master was much in evidence and expect to see various factory-fitted conversions like a dropside, tipper and minibus filtering through to the UK in the not too distant future.

Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz had an entire hall all to itself, emphasising the sheer breadth of the commercial vehicles it has on offer. It was the new Vito which took centre stage in the van section, alongside a raft of ECO-badged and gas-powered Sprinters.

In typical Mercedes fashion it’s definitely a case of evolution rather than revolution with the heavily revised Euro 5 Vito. The 2.1-litre four-cylinder diesel engine line-up and the 3-litre V6 have been updated to the latest emissions levels, the front-end has been reworked, but the majority of the changes lurk under the bodywork.

Vito remains rear-wheel drive — with the exception of one model which we’ll come to in a minute — the suspension settings have been revised to improve ride and handling, and the cab has been reworked.

All the new four-cylinder Vitos feature Merc’s new Eco Gear six-speed manual transmission, a diesel particulate filter and a raft of active safety technology including full ESP.

Those wanting to be even more eco-friendly need look no further than the BlueEfficiency models. In addition to the latest Euro 5 engines these get ECO Start/Stop, low rolling resistance tyres, an uprated battery management system, an ECO power steering pump and a gearshift indicator.

Now we come to the battery-powered Vito E-CELL. Not only is it front-wheel drive, but it is also assembled on the same production line as the diesel-engined models. Based on the long-wheelbase Vito it has a range of around 80 miles and a 900kg payload.

The new Vito range will reach the UK towards the end of this year, with the E-CELL joining the line-up some time in the future. It’s currently undergoing real-world trials in Germany.

Mitsubishi Fuso

Another company under the Daimler umbrella is Mitsubishi Fuso and it too was expounding the eco credentials of the latest generation Euro 5 Canter.

The diesel/electric Hybrid is two years into a three-year trial in London and so far the results are very positive. Brand new for Hannover, however, was the Canter E-CELL, a purely battery-powered, one-off version. The Li-ion batteries are housed inside the chassis and the range of the 3.5-tonner is reckoned to be in the region of 75 miles.

Volkswagen

The other big German light commercial vehicle manufacturer, Volkswagen, also had a new model at the centre of its stand; the fourth generation Caddy and long-wheelbase Caddy Maxi.

It gets a completely reworked front-end to bring it in line with the family appearance of the Transporter and Amarok — and the passenger cars for that matter — and a choice of new Euro 5 1.6- and 2.0-litre diesel engines. The former are available with 75hp or 102hp while the latter are capable of 110hp or 140hp.

Go for the 102hp 1.6 and it can be specified with a seven-speed DSG semi-auto gearbox while the 140hp is available with the six-speed option. All Caddys come with a six-speed manual ’box as standard.

A four-wheel drive 4MOTION model will be on sale in the UK for the first time when the new range reaches the showrooms in November. For the eco-conscious there will be two BlueMotion models on offer. These get a stop/start system, automatic battery regeneration during braking, aerodynamic wheelarch mini spoilers and low rolling resistance tyres. Hill hold assist and cruise control come as standard.

VW will continue to offer an EcoFuel option which has a Euro 5 109hp 2.0-litre petrol engine converted to run on compressed natural gas/biomethane.

The Amarok pick-up may not be reaching these shores until spring 2011, but it picked up its first major award in Hannover; the inaugural International Pick-up of the Year 2011. To celebrate, VW debuted the single cab version. Only double cabs had been seen in the wild until now.

Renault Trucks

VW may be ignoring the electric route for light commercials for the time being, but this is certainly not the case over at Renault Trucks.

Central to its stand was the Maxity ZE and there are plans to make it available commercially in the UK some time in 2012, with trials taking place next year.

Maxity is basically a re-badged Nissan Cabstar and the ZE will have a range of about 80 miles, feature regenerative braking and will take around eight hours to recharge fully.

The truck division of Renault was also taking the opportunity to remind visitors that it also sells a full range of the new Master models, including a wide selection of conversions.

Iveco
Italian manufacturer Iveco is at the forefront of alternative drivetrains and a couple are available in the UK now. The Electric Daily may be expensive, but it’s one of the few large, zero emission panel vans on the market.

More practical is the Daily CNG which runs on biomethane, supplied courtesy of Gasrec in this country. It recovers the gas from landfill sites, cleans it up and removes the moisture. Now, that’s what you call really ‘green’.

Ford

There was an eco surprise on the Ford stand in the shape of the Transit Connect Electric. Developed in conjunction with Azure Dynamics it has a range of 80 miles, a top speed of 75mph and features a liquid-cooled Li-ion battery pack mounted beneath the load floor. Already available in North America, twenty electric Connects have just started a real-world trial in London and the hope is to bring it to market by the summer of next year.

PSA
PSA Peugeot Citroën continued the electric theme with both manufacturers exhibiting locally converted battery-powered examples of the Partner Origin and Berlingo First respectively. Peugeot also featured a van conversion of the iOn electric town car, its take on the Mitsubishi MiEV, complete with a bespoke racking system installation by Sortimo.

Opel/Vauxhall

Opel/Vauxhall is taking a slightly different approach to an electric van. It was exhibiting its e-Concept Vivaro to gauge customer reaction, but what makes it different?

Power to the front wheels is always provided by the Li-ion battery pack and electric motor, giving a range in the region of 60 miles. As the batteries drain, however, a 1.4-litre petrol engine kicks into life and acts as a generator to recharge the batteries on the move. This extends the range to a rather more agreeable 250 miles on a tank of fuel. An end to ‘range anxiety’ maybe, but why not use a 1.3-litre diesel instead and extend the range even further?

Paneltex

Wandering around the outside part of the exhibition in among the forest of cranes we came across well-known British company Paneltex. It was showing off the latest Somers refrigeration products and the Direct Air system caught our eye.

It’s designed to improve the performance of the refrigeration system by channeling air accurately over the roof-mounted condenser unit. At speeds above 20mph fridge performance is improved by 15 per cent, saving fuel and reducing CO2 emissions, as well as placing less stress on the fridge unit itself.

And that neatly sums up the thrust of the show. As we go forwards it’s all going to be about improving efficiency, lowering fuel consumption and therefore reducing CO2 emissions, especially in urban areas. Keeping costs under control will also be a major issue. There will not be one single Eco solution for light commercial vehicles as their uses are so diverse, but from what we saw in Hanover so will the alternative drivetrains offered by the manufacturers in the not too distant future.

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