Background to awards
There are four global commercial vehicle awards: the International Truck of the Year, Truck Innovation Award, International Van of the Year Award and the International Pick-up Award. With the exception of the Pick-up Award, which happens every second year, all the awards are announced annually – and the setting for this year’s awards banquet was Solutrans, an international road and urban transport exhibition that took place at Lyon Eurexpo. These awards are judged by the world’s leading commercial vehicle journalists. The who’s who of the commercial vehicle world attended the gala banquet, which celebrated the best of the best in the world of bakkies, vans and trucks. These vehicles were the winners; we can also reveal the reasons WHY they won.
International Truck of the Year: Mercedes-Benz Actros
There were three finalists in the 2020 International Truck of the Year competition: Mercedes-Benz’s new Actros, Iveco’s recently launched S-Way long-haul range and Volvo Trucks’ fuel-efficient FH I-Save.
The Actros took the crown thanks to its fabulous features, which include the Active Drive Assist system that, in certain operational conditions, can take over the longitudinal and lateral guidance of the truck, thereby allowing partially automated driving in all speed ranges. Another feature worth mentioning is the MirrorCam system, which replaces the traditional exterior rear-view mirrors and effectively supports the driver in manoeuvring, cornering or changing lanes. This also improves aerodynamic efficiency.
“MirrorCam is a ‘revolutionary’ safety feature, which greatly reduces the risk of an accident by offering better protection and safety to cyclists and pedestrians, by eliminating almost all blind spots, and by assisting them in key everyday tasks such as cornering, lane changing and reversing. The streamlined cameras have the additional benefits of reducing fuel consumption, due to improved aerodynamics, while improving visibility through the side door windows,” says Jarlath Sweeney, who represents Ireland on the jury.
The jury members also raved about the new Actros’ Predictive Powertrain Control (PPC) system, which can now also be used on winding cross-country routes, saving fuel and reducing a driver’s workload.
Arjan Velthoven, who represents the Netherlands on the International Truck of the Year jury, says he loved the truck’s road manners. “My reason to vote for the Actros was the stunning performance on the road, thanks to the amazing technology. Mercedes-Benz is once again ahead. I was so impressed to experience the new Actros’s advanced PPC, which showed it can look through corners and completely control the driveline itself in the mountains. That was the only time this year I was truly astonished behind the wheel of a truck,” he reveals.
According to Milan Olsansky, who represents the Czech Republic on the jury, the Actros represents the fusion of electronic assistant systems in favour of more effective and safer driving. “This is not only the real base for autonomous driving in the near future, this is current technology. It works, the future is on the road!" he enthuses.
“With the introduction of the new Actros, Mercedes-Benz has delivered a state-of the-art heavy-duty truck that paves the way towards autonomous driving vehicles of the future,” adds International Truck of the Year chairman Gianenrico Griffini.
Truck Innovation Award: Hyundai
This award, which was introduced a mere two years ago, acknowledges the massive amount of innovation within the commercial vehicle industry; it’s quite incredible to see the pace at which new developments are announced. It’s judged by the same journalists who select the International Truck of the Year (including yours truly).
Given the aforementioned pace of change, there were lots of finalists this year: Nikola’s hydrogen truck range, Freightliner’s eCascadia, Volvo Trucks’ Vera, Scania’s AXL autonomous driving vehicle, Renault Trucks’ Optifuel Lab 3 and – of course – Hyundai. The Korean company made the list of finalists thanks to its quite extraordinary Hydrogen Mobility Solution, based on its H2 XCient fuel-cell all-electric heavy-duty truck, which promotes the introduction of a “green” hydrogen-fuel road transport ecosystem in Switzerland (and, indeed, in other European countries in the future).
Hyundai clinched the title thanks to the company’s comprehensive approach to clean mobility in the commercial vehicle sector. It is working with a bunch of partners, and it will be rolling out 1 600 hydrogen-powered trucks in Switzerland. It’s a really great initiative and the company was richly deserving of the award (as an aside, we have never seen more excited award winners at the banquet…the Hyundai team was mega chuffed).
“There are a few truck manufacturers who are really serious about hydrogen. Nikola is one of them. The other one is Hyundai. In Europe this is a silent force, but their ecosystem in the Hydrogen Mobility Project shows the Koreans have vision. To pair it with the ever practical and very sustainable thinking Swiss is a smart move. To promise hauliers the same km-cost as diesel might look like a gamble, but these guys are smart enough to make it happen,” says Velthoven.
“Hyundai’s activity within the field of hydrogen is good – but this project covering 1 600 hydrogen trucks in Switzerland is really impressive. The other truck manufacturers are talking about electromobility and highlighting their solutions which are far from reality and real customer needs. Hyundai is giving us real hope for practical and effective solutions, using hydrogen,” adds Olsansky.
International Van of the Year: Ford Transit Custom Hybrids
Ford scooped the 2020 International Van of the Year Award with its range of Transit Custom Hybrids. The other vehicles that were in contention for the long-running annual prize were the new Volkswagen Transporter T6.1, the new Renault Master, the latest Iveco Daily and the Fiat Ducato.
According to Sweeney, who is chairman of International Van of the Year, the jury appreciated the direction that Ford has taken to develop a viable drivetrain alternative that meets both urban and rural requirements in an eco-friendly fashion. “Its Plug-in Hybrid system is zero emission capable, with no range anxiety, has no compromise on payload or load volume and has a simple recharging regime. Basically, the technology is designed to run on electric power for city trips – to help improve local air quality. No other manufacturer has gone down this alternative route, as yet,” he says.
Torbjørn Eriksen, who represents Norway on the jury, comments that Ford is the only manufacturer that is going all in with hybrids. “The conversion to full electric for the future is relatively easy since the driveline is full electric with the petrol engine working just as a range extender. Also, the 48V system, which is a relatively cheap ‘hybridisation’, is designed to save cost for the owner and is working seamlessly for the driver. This is a good solution for midterm fuel savings, and a way to get into the electric market without having to go all in regarding the range anxiety,” he explains.
International Pick-up Award: Ford Ranger
After a three-day group test in Sweden against four other nominees, the latest Ford Ranger emerged victorious in the challenge for the 2020 International Pick-up Award. The Ranger beat the new Mitsubishi L200, revised Nissan Navara and Renault Alaskan and current Toyota Hilux.
“Jury members adjudged the Ranger to be the best all-rounder. Marks were allocated on each vehicle based on powertrain efficiencies, load volume and capability, driver and passenger comfort and safety aspects, as well as low total cost of operation from a business point of view,” explains Sweeney.
“Ford has a very good overall pick-up. The road performance is great and the same applies to the off-road driving capabilities. When it comes to the driver environment, Ford is again absolutely on top of the pack. The Sync3 is, in my opinion, the very best on the market,” adds Eriksen.
Needless to say, the team at Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa is understandably elated at this victory. "We are very proud that our South African-built Ranger has received this important accolade," says Doreen Mashinini, general manager marketing. "It is a great accolade for both our Silverton Assembly Plant in Pretoria, where the Ranger is built and for our Struandale Plant, where the new Bi-Turbo and Single Turbo, as well as the proven 2.2 and 3.2 Duratorq TDCi engines are produced," she says.
Ford is the only manufacturer to have won both the International Van of the Year and the International Pick-up Award in the same year. This is the second time that the company has achieved this honour; it first scored a double win in 2013.
