Geneva V. Indy: What Two Auto Shows Reveal about Tomorrow’s Fuels and Technologies

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March 19, 2019

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(Diesel Technology Forum) The two automotive shows, 4,412 miles apart, couldn’t offer a different picture of the industry if they tried.

On one end, the Geneva Motor Show in Europe has journalists proclaiming “the future is electric” and predicting an end to internal combustion engines within the next decade.
Meanwhile, the NTEA Work Truck Show in Indianapoliscelebrates the workhorses of the auto world – the big, heavy duty trucks and vans that drive at least 10 sectors of the world’s economy, highlighting the newest-generation internal combustion technologies right alongside electrified options.

While it’s true that these two shows are aiming for fundamentally different audiences – Geneva to mainstream European car shoppers, and Indianapolis to American commercial fleet owners and operators – the two shows exemplify the push and pull of fuels and technologies that will power the future.

The reality of the situation lies, as always, somewhere in the middle. As the French auto forecaster Inovev pointed out, “In spite of the trend towards car market electrification, only three battery electric vehicles…are presented at Geneva.”

The thread to pull? CONSUMER CHOICE.

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Diesel’s driving range and flexible fueling options, including the option to use advanced renewable low-carbon biodiesel fuels, are increasingly important and desired qualities by both work truck fleets and consumers. Neither personal vehicle drivers nor work truck fleet operators are one-size fits all consumers; both have diverse needs and value ranges of options and choices.

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Heavy duty work trucks and vans, like those on display this week in Indianapolis, are the powerhouses of the global economy. After Class 8 “big rig” trucks, these pickup trucks and vans are used for everything from hauling construction equipment and materials, to the last-mile delivery of Amazon packages – and anything in between. Surely explorations and attempts to offer electrified or alternative powertrains in this sector have made headlines this week, but so has news about diesel: READ MORE

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