The Internet is changing the world. Also the traffic. Because more and more people are ordering online and having things delivered to their homes, there are apparently more and more delivery trucks scurrying through our cities. In terms of units sold, this category of vehicles with a total weight of up to 3.5 tons is a good five times larger than that of the heavy trucks over 16 tons, which are the main focus at the IAA Transportation in Hanover. Around 151,000 large trucks arrived in the EU in the first half of 2024 Trucks on the road are compared to almost 840,500 delivery vans. It’s no wonder that more and more manufacturers are discovering this field and want to get involved. New factory in Hwaseong So Kia has clarified the announcement it made in Las Vegas in January that it wanted to enter the business with electric delivery vans and has set the European launch of the PBV for the end of 2025 announced. A seven-year guarantee is promised up to a mileage of 150,000 kilometers. A new factory is being built in Hwaseong, South Korea, which will have an annual capacity of up to 300,000 units. The larger PBV 7 was also announced for 2027, offering up to nine seats in the station wagon version. This model is also in Hanover. PBV stands for “Platform Beyond Vehicles”. The future requires new paths. Hyundai will work with Iveco in the future. The eMoovy is purely electric. Manufacturer At the same time, Kia’s parent Hyundai surprised at the trade fair by announcing that it would be offering a small, electric commercial vehicle together with Iveco in the future. The “eMoovy” is marketed as Iveco, it combines Hyundai’s EV chassis-based platform with an Iveco body. The battery should be a good 75 kWh in size and 800 volt technology will be used. The partnership is intended to accelerate the transition to environmentally friendly commercial vehicles and support the expansion of sustainable mobility in Europe. The key word for Stellantis, although the delivery vans are already doing relatively well in this regard. The share of electric vehicles in sales is currently at least 5.6 percent. And practically every manufacturer or brand also has an electric van on offer. That’s the keyword for Stellantis. If you take Opel, Fiat, Citroen and Peugeot together, they are the clear market leaders in Germany. The large delivery van from Stellantis, which has its historical origins in the Fiat Ducato, is available with the corresponding badge – and now also as a Toyota with the name Pro Ace Max. The Renault Estafette competed with the VW bus from 1959 to 1980. It should come back in a new form in two years. Purely electric.Boris SchmidtNot everyone has noticed that Toyota has been working with Stellantis in the commercial vehicle sector for a long time. At Opel the big car is called Movano, and the fuel cell version is making its debut in Hanover. The small, electric Opel Rocks, of which there is now a cargo version for urban delivery services, can even fit into the cargo space, which has a capacity of up to 13 cubic meters. The Opel Combo E has also been newly revised. A counterpart to the VW ID Buzz. Renault is traditionally strong in the delivery van segment. They are pleased that the big Ducato competitor Master was named “International Van Of The Year” at the trade fair and are also attracting attention with the Renault Estafette Concept study. Renault was once on the market with the Estafette from 1959 to 1980, and now a new edition of it will also be purely electric, as a counterpart to the VW ID Buzz, so to speak. The Opel Movano is so big that even the little Rocks fits in it. ManufacturerThe Estafette is about as long as a long Kangoo, but much higher. Like the classic model, it not only has round headlights, but also the engine and drive at the front. It is said that this jack-of-all-trades for craftsmen and small businesses will come onto the market in two years. The Maxus brand, which has already had some success in Germany and Europe and is part of the Chinese SAIC group, relies on more classically designed vehicles heard, rather keeps it hidden. The largest in the fleet is the “Deliver 9”. The “Deliver 5” competes with the VW Transporter. Last but not least is the new VW Bus, which brings us to the topic: And last but not least there is the new VW Bus, or Transporter or also called Bulli. In Hanover, the home of VW Commercial Vehicles, the successor to the VW T6.1 is celebrating its debut, which will again be available in a variety of versions and variants. VW is talking about the seventh generation, which will come as a diesel and gasoline engine with hybrid technology and as a purely electric version. At heart, the “New Transporter” is no longer a pure VW product. It comes from a collaboration with Ford and is also built in Turkey. The seventh generation of the VW Transporter is being built in collaboration with Ford. Boris Schmidt. In contrast, the VW Multivan, of which the “California” camper model recently debuted, is technically a different vehicle on its platform, which is related to the Golf and the Passat. And still a pure VW. Of course, this especially applies to the electric VW ID Buzz, for which VW now offers a larger battery (86 kWh) and more power and all-wheel drive in the GTX. The ID Buzz Cargo Pure is also new and has a net price of 42,170 euros. VW has now finished the plug-in hybrid model with a large battery (19.7 kWh) for the Multivan. Our favorite at the trade fair, however, was the small Nextem Orca. Nextem also comes from China. The four-meter-long charging flea can load up to one ton and is said to be “unrivaled in price” in its class. The battery is 33 kWh in size and the output is up to 30 kW (40 HP). A range of 200 kilometers is promised. Chinese manufacturers are still holding back in the truck sector – this also applies to the large ones. Completely different than with passenger cars. In Hanover it didn’t look like that would change. Nextem is the next Chinese brand that wants to try its hand in Germany. Here is the little Orca.Boris Schmidt
Go to Source