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EDITORIAL
Commercial Vehicles
are the Driving Force
Dear Reader, usethevehicle for is what determines
the most efficient and therefore most
In just over two weeks the 67 IAA suitable powertrain. As a result, gas
th
Commercial Vehicles show begins in drives and synthetic fuels will be
Hanover (Germany). It will give a com- moreimportant infuture for commer-
prehensive overview of the current sta- cialvehicles than for cars. In the field
tus of tech nological development and ofautomation and connectivity, practi-
not only because its theme is “Driving calsolutions are likely to be introduced
Tomorrow.” This year the focus is on within a more clearly defined timeframe
thechallenges presented by digitization, than may be the case in the car industry.
connectivity, automated driving, and
alternative drive systems and on the spe- As a result, commercial vehicles have
cific solutions available. While it is not become the driving force behind devel-
yet clear in the car sector which new opments in these important areas.
systems will be introduced and when
and, most importantly, how customers I hope you enjoy reading this issue of
will react to them, in the commercial ATZ.
vehicle industry the only consideration
isto find efficient solutions for the future
of transport and logistics.
This gives the industry a clear advan-
tage, because when the key factor is the
cost per kilometer, driving pleasure plays Dr. Alexander Heintzel
a less important role and drivers do not Editor in Chief
have to be convinced of the benefits of
automated driving or electric power-
trains. At the same time, the commercial
vehicle industry already has a very clear
idea of the areas where fully electric
vehicles are the ideal solution and where
trucks with a combustion engine and a
certain level of hybridization will in
future be a more sensible choice.
For this reason, the exhibitors at the
IAACommercial Vehicles from Sep-
tember 20to 27, 2018, will be present-
inga kaleidoscope of drive systems
from combustion engines through to
fully electric drives with new battery
and charging technologies. Here the
purposethat the end customer will
ATZ worldwide 09|2018 3
