The UK’s largest road transport, distributions and logistics event – the Commercial Vehicle Show, has seen an estimated 20,000 visitors walk through its doors this week. It has become a must-see attraction for fleet and transport managers as it presents a one-stop-shop for everything related to commercial vehicles.

Here are our five highlights from the commercial vehicle show 2018.

1. Insights and innovations:

The Innovation Hub, hosted by Motor Transport, covered a range of future truck technologies. These included platooning, autonomous vehicles and smart transport options, such as mobility as a service and artificial intelligence.

2. Environmental:

It’s unsurprising that air quality and emissions are a hot topic for commercial vehicle operators. By the nature of their operations, they often work in city centres and clean air zones. Ideas to address this challenge came from a range of manufacturers, such as Volkswagen’s new e-Crafter and Ford’s ‘last mile delivery’ solutions as well as hearing about the operational challenges and rewards of e-lcv from Gnewt Cargo in the Innovation Hub.

3. Safety and compliance:

Safety and compliance always dominate the CV Show. This year, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) made an appearance, releasing research on the number of preventable deaths caused by poor tyre maintenance while Highways England demonstrated their ‘stealth’ unmarked HGV. It has stopped more than 5,000 drivers over the past three years – spotting an average of one driving offence every 16 miles, for offences relating to mobile phone use, speeding and seat belts.

4. A bit about us:

While we don’t like to blow our own trumpet, LeasePlan has contributed to the show too. For a start, we launched our brand-new compliance whitepaper, which you can download here. We also hosted our popular breakfast and lunch insights sessions where we aim to help attendees stay on top of changes and use innovations to their advantages. Our industry experts covered key topics on some of the challenges being faced by Fleet Operators – from safety and compliance to emissions and telematics. [Read more here]

5. Platform for launch:

Manufacturers are increasingly using the show as a platform to launch new vehicles. This year was no exception, with seven UK debuts and three global launches.
• Global: Ford Fiesta Van, Mitsubishi Shogun Sport Van and Isuzu D Max Stealth
• UK: New Mercedes Sprinter. Citroen Dispatch, Peugeot Expert, VW eCrafter, Renault Trafic Formula, Ssangyong Musso and LDV V80 Electric

To find out more about the show visit the CV Show website here.

If you would like to know more about our work with commercial vehicle operators and the services we offer click here.