There is one week to go before the Commercial Vehicle Show 2019 opens its doors on Tuesday, April 30, at Birmingham’s NEC.

A raft of major new products, including the new Vauxhall Vivaro, Ford Ranger, 2.0-tonne Transit and LDV EV30 will all make their public debut.

Nigel Base, commercial vehicle manager at the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), said: “Once again innovation will be a central theme to the show.

“Virtually every manufacturer and supplier will be showing off its latest high-tech solutions to make commercials and light commercials cleaner and more efficient. There will also be plenty of huge advances in areas such as in-cab connectivity, telematics, driver monitoring and real-time analytics.”

Mitsubishi Motors is showcasing a one-off show truck as part of its presence at this year’s CV Show, which takes place from April 30 to May 2.

The Mitsubishi Motor stand will feature seven Mitsubishi vehicles, including the Mitsubishi L200 eSports Concept.

Designed by Joanne Tulloch, sales administrator at Livery Dole Mitsubishi in Exeter, the Mitsubishi L200 eSports Concept features a rear gaming zone, bespoke seating and lighting, a refreshment bar and high-power audio system, as well as a special wheel and tyre package and numerous other modifications.

Meanwhile, visitors will also be able to learn more about the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Commercial, which is eligible for the UK government’s Plug-In Van Grant, a saving of £7,902 resulting in an on-the-road price of just £25,121.

The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Commercial is fitted with a full load bay bulkhead, a flat load area measuring 1,65m in length and 1m in width between the wheel arches with a maximum payload of 510kg. Based on the same plug-in hybrid technology as the passenger car, it also offers the security of an advanced four-wheel drive system as well as fuel economy of 139mpg WLTP, an EV range of 28 miles WLTP and CO2 emissions of 46g/km WLTP (40g/km NEDC).

Helping operators to achieve peak efficiency for more than 80,000 commercial vehicles, BT Fleet Solutions is bringing together its complete range of fleet management services at the 2019 CV Show.

Visitors to the stand can explore the benefits of BT’s end-to-end business services which range from vehicle compliance and maintenance, through to fleet analytics and even accident services.

Also on display for 2019 is the Final Mile Solution, a nationwide network of lockers that will reduce the travel time and the mileage covered by field engineering teams.

Asset Alliance Group will be giving out a free report into the health of the road transport sector. The exclusive report has been compiled from in-depth surveys involving more than 20,000 key decision-makers within third-party logistics companies, own-account fleets, municipal waste operators and public sector bodies.

Grant Law, group marketing director at Asset Alliance Group, said: “The report has been produced to provide a valuable look into how fleets are responding at a time of unprecedented national uncertainty. This year’s findings promise to be insightful and will make for compulsive reading.”

SmartWitness will be launching three new and upgraded video telematics software solutions – SmartView, SmartGuard and SmartAPI – at CV Show 2019.

SmartGuard and SmartView give fleet managers having total visiblity of their fleet at all times and greater control on risk and incident management. SmartAPI allows traditional telematics provider to add video to their services cheaply and profitably.

Visitors to the show will also be able to see the all-new Toyota Proace City compact van, which is making its world debut at the CV Show.

The new Proace City will join the Proace medium duty van, Hilux pick-up and Land Cruiser Utility Commercial to extend Toyota’s presence in the LCV market, where compact duty van sales account for around 35% of the European total.

Meanwhile, LDV is gearing up for the CV Show where it will showcase its range of zero emissions vehicles, launch a brand new EV for the UK and Irish markets and give away an EV80 worth more than £60,000.

Mark Barrett, general manager of LDV UK and Ireland, said: “Electric powered vehicles are no longer a novelty or a green trophy on the road and will soon become the norm and this is reflected in the number of automotive brands, both in the domestic and commercial markets, that are moving their focus from fuel-dependent engines to hybrids and pure-electric models.”

There will also be a completely new version of FleetCheck’s Vehicle Inspection App – the original of which is used to carry out more than 3,000 vehicle checks in the UK every day –launched at CV Show.

Designed for cars, vans, HGVs, buses and coaches, it includes a range of key enhancements such as support for languages commonly used among UK fleet drivers, a fit-to-drive declaration, enhanced damage, defect and collision reporting and shift recording.

For vehicle leasing and fleet management company Arval, fuel diversity, new van waiting times and clean air zones are set to be the top three subjects at this year’s show.

Eddie Parker, Arval’s commercial vehicle consultant, said: “We have decided to focus on our consultancy services this year simply because we have never seen so many substantial and important questions placed before fleet operators.”

More than 400 suppliers will exhibiting at the CV Show and fleet decision-makers can find out more from the event’s website, www.cvshow.com.

However, Base said: “The CV Show is more than a simple showcase for the latest products and services. It’s rare a chance for the whole commercial vehicle community to come together to make valuable new contacts and catch up with friends, colleagues and suppliers.

“I for one am looking forward to visiting the many stands at the show and to meeting up with friends and colleagues I haven’t seen for a long time.”

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