Automechanika Frankfurt shows the future is already here

The 2019 Automechanika Johannesburg will be held on September 21 at the Johannesburg Expo Centre, Nasrec and will be co-located with the Futuroad Expo.

Meanwhile, this year’s 25th Automechanikain Frankfurt trade fair for the automotive aftermarket had a great deal to offer for truck, van, bus, and trailer operators, as well as for service providers to this segment of the motor industry.

Between September 11 and 15, more than 1 000 companies showcased products on stands displaying the orange Truck Competence logo, while this year’s event also featured the first Truck Competence Symposium, as well as discussion panels and training workshops for commercial-vehicle professionals.

The symposium, themed “Trends in Commercial Vehicle Service”, focused on electro-mobility and digitisation. It also featured presentations and discussion groups looking at the challenges faced by commercial-vehicle service centres, particularly in Europe, where massive and rapid changes are taking place in hardware and operating systems.

Connectivity between vehicles and service providers was also explored in depth.

In addition, training workshops for commercial-vehicle professionals were organised all day on each of the five days of the show. Here the focus was on dealing with sensor and camera-based driver assistance systems in everyday workshop life.

“Automechanika Frankfurt has responded to the growing importance of the commercial-vehicle market for workshops and replacement-parts dealers by continuing to grow and widen the scope of its support programme for this market segment,” explains Olaf Musshoff, director of Automechanika.

An increasing number of digital technologies and intelligent and networked systems are already being used in commercial vehicles, as well as in the servicing of these vehicles. It is a trend that was reflected in the products and innovations on display from Truck Competence exhibitors at Automechanika Frankfurt.

Already there are smartphone and tablet apps for training and providing instructions for servicing and repairing commercial vehicles, as well as for the online ordering of replacement and service parts.