September 21, 2016 Vol. 13 No. 19

As I write this in a hotel room in Hannover, Germany — where 400 other trucking journalists are also lodged — I’m anticipating the opening of the 2016 IAA Commercial Vehicles Show tomorrow morning. Ultimately there will be some 2500 motor noters like me descending on the Hannover exhibition grounds and then rushing about this way and that like pen-wielding ants, all of them looking for a story that nobody else has discovered.

A competitive game we play? Nah.

I’ve been attending this massive show held every two years since some time last century, and it never ceases to amaze me. The size, for sure, but also the buzz. Even when things in the industry are looking awful, it’s lively here. Journalists come from literally every corner of the globe, and it’s just plain fun to be in their midst.

The shy Chinese, the curious Japanese, the stylish Italians, the jaded Brits, the enthusiastic Mexicans, the lively Australians, the gruff Russians… they all make for a wonderful mix of sight and sound.

There was a time, and it lasted a fair few years, when the North American journalist IAA contingent was very small. Then trans-Atlantic OEM ownership became a progressively bigger thing, the truck-making map changed outright, and now nobody can miss this show.

While the show hasn’t yet opened, I do have all the news from Daimler Trucks after their regular IAA media night, so let’s dive into that. A full report on IAA 2016 will have to wait a couple of weeks, but I’ll post things online at todaystrucking.com in the meantime. Do not expect tweets.

THE STAR AT THE DAIMLER TRUCKS PAVILION will be the very cool Mercedes-Benz Urban eTruck. A star among several contenders, I should note, among them the all-electric Fuso eCanter. We won’t see the former in North America, at least not in this form, and maybe not even in Europe, but the Fuso is a possibility. It won’t be offered in North America quite yet but its proponents within Daimler are hopeful.