The 15-th International Commercial Vehicle Show COMTRANS 2019 was held in Moscow.
266 manufacturers of trucks, LCVs, buses, special and municipal equipment, automotive components and spare parts from 15 countries participated in the exhibition (217 exhibitors in 2017).
The number of professional unique visitors for the first time in the history of COMTRANS exceeded 19 000 (18 066 unique visitors in 2017).
The exhibition was supported by: the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, the Department of transport and development of road transport infrastructure of Moscow, the Association of European Businesses (AEB), the Transport Association of the Moscow Agglomeration (TAMA), and the International Road Transport Union (IRU).
Denis Manturov, Minister of industry and trade of the Russian Federation, visited COMTRANS on the opening day. During the tour, the Minister said: "Now there is the technological transformation of the automotive industry — the main producers of commercial vehicles have already signed long-term special investment contracts. Thus, we enter a new stage of development of this segment. The focus of this work will be on the greening of urban commercial vehicles, primarily through the use of natural gas and electric powertrain technologies. In addition, our manufacturers are already testing driver assistance systems, given the impending trend in driverless technologies."
Minister of transport of the Russian Federation Evgeny Dietrich addressed a welcome letter to the organizers, participants and guests of the COMTRANS 2019 exhibition: "In the strategy of development of the automotive industry until 2020, special attention is paid to strengthening the commercial transport industry. Today, conditions for successful work of the largest world producers and increase in production capacities are already created in our country. The government is taking measures to create conditions for Russian manufacturers of commercial vehicles to gain competitive advantages. This market is very actively developing. The COMTRANS exhibition enables consumers to assess the main trends, compare the competitiveness of products, choose something specific from a reliable manufacturer."
Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin greeted the organizers, participants and guests of the exhibition with an official letter, in which he noted: "Russia's largest exhibition of commercial vehicles demonstrates the advanced achievements of the industry, serves as a platform for discussing topical issues of the development of the automotive industry and the transport sector. The transport complex of Moscow is one of the most dynamically developing ones in the world. In recent years, we have carried out a large-scale upgrade of the rolling stock of public transport, for the priority movement of which hundreds of kilometers of dedicated lanes have been equipped."
Deputy Minister of energy of the Russian Federation Anton Inyutsyn also visited COMTRANS 2019 on a business visit. "Every year the exhibition brings together leading manufacturers and suppliers of vehicles, equipment and services. The significance of the event is confirmed by the quantitative and qualitative composition of the participants, including the largest foreign and domestic manufacturers of motor vehicles", the Deputy Minister said.
On September 3, the exhibition was inaugurated with the 19th ceremony of awarding the winners of the contest "Best commercial vehicle of the year in Russia", which was held at a specially organized outdoor area COMTRANS Arena.
The 2019 competition was won by:
Immediately after the award Ceremony, COMTRANS Arena began a large-scale program of business events, prepared by the organizers of the exhibition in cooperation with the Association of European Businesses (AEB), the Transport Association of the Moscow Agglomeration (TAMA), the International Road Transport Union (IRU) and other partners.
For four days COMTRANS Arena was a platform for panel discussions, where speakers and moderators were the leading experts of the automotive industry and the transport industry – OEM CEOs, representatives of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Ministry of Transport of Russia, Moscow Government, as well as specialists from other government organizations, analyst firms and professional associations. The most topical issues were touched upon, including the future of commercial vehicles, the forecast of the commercial vehicle market, the development of gas filling infrastructure in Russia, the actual problems of functioning and digital transformation of commercial vehicles, promising trends in logistics and supply chain management.
In just four days, the business program was attended by audience of more than 900 persons.
The Russian commercial vehicle market remains one of the largest and most attractive in the world. COMTRANS 2019 participants presented a huge number of newly developed vehicles, not only diesel-powered, but also with electric propulsion. In connection with the tasks set by the President of Russia for the development of gas-powered transport and the relevant initiatives of the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia, this year the exhibition presented an expanded line of commercial vehicles powered by natural gas.
KAMAZ, which celebrated its 50th anniversary as part of COMTRANS 2019, impressed with the scale of its exposition. One of the main exhibits of the company's stand was the KAMAZ-54901 linehaul road tractor with a fundamentally new K5 generation cab. The truck is equipped with a new automated gearbox, KAMAZ engine of a completely new type – 6-cylinder in-line. Another entirely new development in terms of design is the KAMAZ-6355 8x8 wheel arrangement, known as KAMAZ-Arctic. The all-terrain vehicle is designed to operate in the Far North and the Arctic at temperatures of 50-60 degrees below zero. The updated KAMAZ-5490 NEO 2 linehaul tractor was also presented at the stand. The new version of the truck for regional and long-haul transport managed to achieve an increased level of comfort in the cockpit. Another novelty KAMAZ presented at the exhibition was a semi-low-floor diesel city bus NEFAZ-4299-30-52 featuring modern design exterior and interior.
The absolute leader of the stand of GAZ Group, which this year celebrates the 25th anniversary of the legendary GAZelle, was a light commercial vehicle of the new generation GAZelle NN. The distinctive features of the new vehicle were the widespread use of driver assistance systems and a high level of comfort.
Other novelties include the Sadko NEXT all-terrain truck, the GAZon NEXT 10 truck powered by two types of natural gas, and the upgraded Sobol 4x4 minivan. The company’s bus range was represented by a new low-floor minibus, GAZ electric bus, a new long-distance bus, the Vector NEXT, and the GAZelle NEXT 4.6 CNG minibus. In addition, a Euro-6 diesel engine and Euro-5 gas engines based on the YAMZ-530 family were demonstrated at the GAZ group stand.
One of the most important models exhibited at the Volvo stand was the Volvo FH Gravity. For the first time in Russia, Volvo Trucks presented its advanced development in the field of electric, autonomous and connected vehicles – a driverless environment-friendly truck of the future, the VERA, the main feature of which is the complete absence of a cab. The VERA was a true decoration of the stand and a demonstration of Volvo's leading position in the field of innovative technologies for the transport industry of the near future. The Volvo Trucks outdoor exhibition showcased the latest examples of Volvo utility, forestry and agricultural machinery.
In the year of the 125th anniversary of the historical heritage, Renault Trucks presented an extensive exposition of modern and ultra-reliable trucks for transport and construction operations. The company's stand embraced the following exhibits: the Renault Trucks T High Tourmaline – a bright flagship for linehaul, combining an attractive exterior with premium levels of performance, safety and comfort; the Renault Trucks T Carat – a genuine time-tested truck for regional and long haul transportation; the Renault Trucks K 6x6 – an all-wheel drive tractor unit for highly complex conditions of the transport-building cycles ready to work in the off-road environment; the Renault Trucks K 8x8 Carbon – the legendary all-wheel drive on all four axles from Renault Trucks, embodied in the image of a brutal dump truck for the mining industry.
Mercedes-Benz presented a wide range of commercial vehicles at the exhibition. This is a new V-Class that sets an even higher bar in its segment. The third generation Mercedes-Benz Sprinter impresses with its progressive design, comfort and safety at the level of passenger cars. Two tourist buses based on the new Sprinter – Comfort and Ultimate – were shown at once. Great interest was aroused by the limited version X-Class Night Edition and X 350d Power City, which perfectly fit into the urban landscape. A minibus, the Mercedes-Benz Vito Life, will be a real godsend for those who are looking for a roomy vehicle with high off-road performance. It combines the practicality of all-wheel drive and a powerful 190 HP diesel engine.
MAN showed a linehaul tractor unit, the MAN TGX 18.480 4x2 BLS XLX in the XLION kitting version. This model uses all the technologies to save fuel, which are available today with the MAN engineering and design service. Also presented at the stand of the company was an improved modification of the MAN Lion's Intercity coach, the main scope of which is work on suburban and intercity routes. At the outdoor exposition, MAN presented two four-axle dump trucks.
Visitors were able to see several new ISUZU products, including ELF chassis with a gas-powered engine, a robotic transmission and all-wheel drive transmission, as well as a new pickup truck, the ISUZU D-Max of 2019 model year. The main novelties of the ISUZU at the exhibition were the 3 new ELF models: an icecream delivery van with an eutectic freezing unit on the ISUZU ELF 7.5 NPR82 CNG chassis with an engine that runs on compressed natural gas (methane); a tow truck with a double-deck platform on the ISUZU ELF 9.5 NQR90 chassis with a robotized gearbox; a hook multi-lift loader on the ISUZU NMS85 chassis with all-wheel drive transmission.
The IVECO stand presented the whole series of vehicles running on natural gas, including the Stralis NP truck-tractors in a compressed gas-fueled version and a new modification running on liquefied gas, the Daily Blue Power van and the Eurocargo refuse collector, both running on compressed methane. The flagship of the exposition was the IVECO Stralis NP LNG long-haul tractor, a pioneer among trucks running on liquefied methane, combining power, a big cruising range and a great level of riding comfort.
Hino Motors company, the official distributor of Japanese HINO trucks, this year showed a number of new products. This is the last year’s update HINO 500 GH (18 tons,4x2), featuring a new cabin design, V-shaped silhouette of the front grill and a clearly distinguishable brand logo. Another novelty is the HINO 500 FM (26 tons, 6x4) with a high cabin, road version of the general purpose chassis.
At the stand of Hyundai, the new Mighty, a more modern and efficient vehicle in the line of medium-duty trucks, was demonstrated. The Mighty multi-purpose trucks are designed for a variety of commercial applications. Another exhibit of the stand was the Hyundai HD78, which is the most popular in Russia foreign-made truck of up to 7.5 t GVW. In 2019, the HD78 lineup is replenished with a new CNG modification with a compressed methane-fueled engine of 133 HP, Euro-5 standard. The stand also showed a diesel HD78 truck equipped with a sliding tow platform with a loading length of 5320 mm and a load capacity of 3000 kg with a 9-degree angle of arrival. In addition, visitors had the opportunity to get acquainted with the isothermal 4-layer van on an elongated chassis HD120 ULTRA LONG.
DAF Trucks presented at the exhibition the new CF and XF trucks, the engines of which meet the Euro-5 standard. Thanks to new transmissions, innovative engines, improved rear axles and optimized aerodynamics, the new generation DAF CF and XF trucks consume less fuel by over 10% compared to previous models.
For the first time on the territory of the Russian Federation, MAZ's stand showed a model of the third generation MAZ 303 bus belonging to the large class buses and designed to carry passengers around the city. Among the showcased novelties of the company there are four powerful vehicles: a linehaul train based on the MAZ-5440М7 truck-tractor; the MAZ-54А02К truck-tractor with the engine running on natural gas; the MAZ-4381С0 medium-duty truck; a linehaul train consisting of the MAZ-5440Е8 truck-tractor and the MAZ-930011 isothermal semi-trailer.
Turbotrucks company (a TH Group member), the exclusive distributor of Ford Trucks in Russia, presented to specialists and experts a new road tractor, the Ford Trucks F-MAX. It is worth noting that this model became the winner of the title "International Truck of the Year 2019" at IAA in Hanover.
The company Yutong Center Capital has shown on its stand a world premiere – the Yutong ZK 6128 H coach – novelty 2019, which is amazing with its capacity and comfort. This model was developed on the basis of the T122, the top model of the Yutong tourist coach line, using familiar to the Russian market components and assemblies from China.
Traditionally, widely represented at COMTRANS 2019 was the sector of trailers and semi-trailers.
Among the manufacturers who showcased their products were Russian Hartung, Novtruck, Manac-Auto, Kapri, MZSA, TechnoStavPricep; Turkish Nursan Trailer, Koluman, Serin Trailer, Katmerciler, Yalcin Dorse, Ozgul Trailers, BRF Treyler, Versus; German Schmitz Cargobull, Krone, Koegel; as well as Belgian STAS Trailers and Polish Wielton.
Reference information
COMTRANS is the largest in Russia and Eastern Europe commercial vehicle show, it is included in the official calendar of international motor shows accredited by the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA), and is held in odd years. The exhibition is traditionally supported by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation, the Transport Association of the Moscow Agglomeration (TAMA), the Association of European Businesses (AEB).
Exhibition organizers:
ITEMF Expo LLC— a joint venture of two leading international exhibition organizers: ITE Group and Messe Frankfurt, www.itemfexpo.ru
Association of Russian Automakers, nonprofit partnership (OAR) – established in 2003 on the initiative of leading Russian automobile manufacturers, a full member of the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA), www.oar-info.ru