Big guns in a small market T he theme of the
Page 14
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
14th Geneva commercial vehicle show, Road Transport—Indispensable, underlines Switzerland's reliance on a proficient and successful road transport industry. Although only a small market, the strong Swiss currency and high labour rates make it a tempting one for exporters.
Major manufacturers like Mercedes regard it highly enough to head for the Palexpo exhibition centre with everything but the kitchen sink.
Scania chose the Geneva Show for the international launch of its acclaimed Four Series range with additional Cclass rigids for construction work.
The long awaited P and R-cabbed 6x4/8x4 models are still many months away from dealers' windows but Scania's show line-up gave us a glimpse of good things to come.
Switzerland's few motorways are generally the preserve of international traffic; domestic vehicles are capped at 28 tonne GVW. After 22:00hrs, "silent hour", traffic is restricted to 7.5 tonnes—inevitably this has led to the evolution of small, high-cube tractive units such as Merc's Sprinter and Iveco Daily van conversions which can legally be driven on a car license.
Many pan-Alpine routes are extremely difficult and delivering building materials to remote sites over narrow, winding mountain passes requires rather special vehicles. Iveco, Mercedes and Steyr have met the challenge with three and four-axled rigids incorporating extra steering at the rear. For example, Merc's 25441L 6x2 special rides on full air with a steered trailing axle for outstanding manoeuvrability.
Mercedes also introduced the 1217, a 12-tonne GVW model from its 6.5-15 tonne LK range with the new 0M904LA four-pot engine and a lighter 60-6 six-speed transmission.
Other innovations to be found under the three-pointed star included the Spanishbuilt 2.6-tonne Vito van and two Sprinters: a prototype CNG-driven 314G, and a 414 with four-wheel drive.
Other light vehicles making their debut were the Hyundai H100 chassis-cab and Mitsubishi L400 van and Ford's revised Courier CDV.
The Geneva show was also chosen by Continental for its first showing of a new generation of ECO-Plus truck/trailer tyres.