Get ready for a show-stopper

More than 2 000 exhibitors! Over 320 world premieres! A whopping 250 000 visitors! FOCUS editor Charleen Clarke discovered that this year’s IAA – which took place from September 25 to October 2, in Hannover, Germany – didn’t disappoint.

You can read about everything that went down as Clarke reports back on the show in our November edition, and an IAA special will be aired on DStv’s Ignition, channel 189.

“Connectivity, efficiency and flexibility – these three forward-looking topics formed the technical focus of this IAA,” said Matthias Wissmann, president of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (or, in German, Verband der Automobilindustrie), at the IAA’s final press conference.

“This IAA has well and truly lived up to its slogan; ‘Driving the future’,” he emphasised – providing two examples to drive his point home.  

“On the Innovation Stage, at the open-air site, visitors had their first opportunity to see how a driver left his cab and simply controlled his 25 m-long truck remotely, with the aid of a tablet, using one finger,” Wissmann mentioned. “So nobody has to sit at the steering wheel for manoeuvring. The job is done by an electric motor.”

He added: “This IAA is also looking far ahead – with the first automated truck in the world. It sounds like science fiction: the truck drives safely on the autobahn without the driver having to intervene; it communicates with its surroundings and ensures greater safety on the roads.”

Wissmann explained that the automated wonder consumes less fuel and relieves the stress on the driver in monotonous situations. “This is made possible by the intelligent networking of all existing safety systems, supplemented by cameras, radar sensors and means of communication both between vehicles and with the infrastructure.”

The show, however, had tons more to offer … Be sure to grab our next edition and tune into Ignition TV for more on this ultimate commercial vehicle show.

IAA special will be aired on DStv’s Ignition, channel 189, at the following times:

November 1 – 11:00
November 2 – 17:00
November 3 – 14:00
November 4 – 00:00
November 5 – 04:00
November 6 – 20:00
November 7 – 08:00 and 17:00