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• This year's Barcelona show is the first since Spain became an EEC member and the impact of that event is evident on the stands of truck importers and domestic manufacturers alike. All the importers report sharply increasing sales in Spain as import tariffs have been gradually reduced with Iveco leading the way having, boosted Spanish registrations by nearly 50% last year to give it an 11% share of the threetonne-plus truck market.
Some importers are restructuring their dealer networks in Spain to cope with the booming demand.
MAN, for example, has just bought a controlling 60% stake in its Spanish importer, Codima. Enasa, the Spanish state-owned truck builder, has high hopes for its new Troner range, not only to win back business from Spanish operators, but also to make the Pegaso badge a more common sight on other European roads.
International attention
The Ironer cabs are certainly attracting more international attention at Barcelona than any other exhibit.
There are four versions of the Pegaso Cabtec cab: a day cab, a double-bunk sleeper, a short cab with top sleeper, and the TX, high-roof double bunk cab which is aimed squarely at long distance, international operators.
All the cabs share the same distinctive clean, angular lines. Enasa has taken particular care to keep the rear of the cabs clear to ease close coupling of tractive units or body mounting on rigids. Innovative components fitted as standard on the top-of-the-range TX cab include four-point air suspension with levelling valves controlling both pitch and roll; a trip computer (whose display panel provides data, like average speed, average fuel consumption or even ambient temperature); and linked to this what amounts to a condition monitoring system with a comprehensive malfunction warning panel separate from the main fascia. Enasa currently has no plans to sell its new range in Sweden, but Daf will be selling its Cabtec models there and so has put the new cab through tough Swedish impact tests.
Following unsuccessful talks with Japanese van manufacturers, Enasa's new management has found a European replacement for its venerable Sava vans and chassis cabs in the Volkswagen LT and MAN-VW MT ranges. Pegaso-badged German-built LTs and MTs are on display in Barcelona — but for sale only in Spain, under the agreement between the German and Spanish manufacturers.
The light van and chassis cab range which is attracting most attention in Barcelona, and causing some confusion into the bargain, comes from another German manufacturer, Mercedes-Benz. Contrary to earlier reports the new MB100 to MB180 range, with GVW's from 2.5 to 2.5 tonnes, is not a product of the co-operation between Mitsubishi and Daimler-Benz, according to Mercedes-Benz Espana.
That vehicle, based on the new Mitsubishi L300 body shell with Mercedes running gear, will be lighter says the company, and has yet to be unveiled. The chassis of the MB100 to MB180 range has nothing to do with Mitsubishi.
All the vehicles in the range, whether van, minibus or bodied vehicle, use a tubular chassis frame which looks very like that of the old Hanomag-based 206/206, predecessor to the 207/307 Mercedes range. Moreover they are all frontwheel drive, using the Mercedes OM 615 and 616 four-cylinder diesel engines (as fitted in the rear wheel drive 207D and 307D) driving through fouror five-speed gearboxes. These engines are canted over to the nearside on the Spanish-built vehicles, which could complicate a righthand-drive conversion. In any event Mercedes remains coy about any plans for introducing the front-wheel-drive range to other European countries.
We cannot believe, however, that the world's most prolific CV builder has failed to recognise the potential of this stylish new range in all the markets where vehicles like Renault's front-wheel drive Master and Trafic already do well.