News: July 2008
Potential Daimler Trucks stake in Kamaz
28.07.2008Daimler Trucks is currently looking at the possibility of taking a 42% share in Russian HGV manufacturer Kamaz. The other option for entering the largest European market is to build a new factory for the local assembly of Daimler Trucks HGV’s. The advantage in taking a stake in Kamaz lies in synergies in terms of development, production and commercial expertise. www.daimler.com
Belgium is ideal logistics location
25.07.2008According to the European Distribution Report 2008 published by international real estate experts Cushman & Wakefield, Belgium is in first place in terms of offering the best industrial and logistics facilities. Second place goes to the Netherlands, followed by Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland. The report also indicates that the greatest economic activity is also to be found in Belgium, the UK, France and Germany, countries which are home to the most important ports and freight airports in Europe. “The geographical location of Belgium close to the major ports and the accessibility to the most important European markets are exceptionally good”, the report emphasises, while also mentioning that the price of real estate in Belgium is substantially lower than the Netherlands or Germany. In the future, the regions of northern France and western Germany may challenge Belgium’s top spot. And finally, Central and Eastern Europe possess enormous potential in the short and medium term. www.cushwake.com
IAA even bigger
23.07.2008The 62nd IAA utility vehicle show which will take place in Hanover from September 25th to October 2nd is already a record in terms of the number of exhibitors, the number of countries represented and the exhibition area. The number of exhibitors will reach the 2000 mark this year, some 25% up on 2006, with 47 countries represented and an exhibition area of 275,000 m², 10% more than in 2006. www.iaa.de
FedEx tests 10 hybrid Iveco Daily's
21.07.2008Iveco and FedEx Express have started operational tests with the new diesel-electric hybrid Daily vans. This technology is said to enable a reduction of diesel consumption of 30% in an urban environment, along with a corresponding reduction in CO2 emissions, compared to a standard vehicle. These 10 Daily vans should therefore lead to an annual decrease of 6000 litres of fuel and 15 tonnes of CO2. Iveco has announced the start of hybrid production in its factories from the end of 2009. www.iveco.com
Truck makers want global standards
18.07.2008Van and truck maker bosses pretty much all want more effective global standards, particularly for emissions. So said most of the senior truck industry figures speaking at the VDA's recent 'curtain raiser' press conference for this autumn's Hannover truck show. Three sets of regulations dominate, one based on European laws, a second based on Japanese and a third based on North American requirements. The lack of global standards means vehicle makers have to design, develop and test three different engines to do the same job, when one would do. "We need 1,000 engineers on engine development," said Goran Simonson at Volvo. "If there was one clear global standard, maybe we could halve that number." As it is, he says manufacturers are paying and inevitably passing on extra costs to customers. "Eventually these hit consumers, and for no clear benefit." www.volvo.com
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