The Road Transport Expo (RTX) 2025

Ford Trucks wants to be the eighth wheel on the wagon, so to speak, i.e. the eighth major truck manufacturer in Europe. This wish seems to be coming true. Following the presentation of the Ford F-Max tractor unit at the IAA 2018 in Hanover, things are looking up across Europe for the Ford Trucks brand, which has been producing trucks in Turkey for 60 years and is now also aiming for international success. The next step forward was the presentation of the new F-LINE product family in Crailsheim near Stuttgart at the beginning of June 2024. Ford Trucks now also offers distribution and construction vehicles as well as medium-duty tractor units. Steve St.Schmidt accepted the invitation to southern Germany and reports on the presentation of the new trucks.

Every June since 2001, the Classic & Vintage Commercial Show has been held in Gaydon, England, attracting many participants and visitors. This time, our freelancer Christoph Büch was there and took numerous good photos, the best of which we show here. It's not just British truck history that is revived in Gaydon, as imported vehicles and some British-built Volvos also take part. It becomes painfully clear how many British truck manufacturers there once were, none of which still exist today.

How did tree trunks up to 14 meters long get from the railroad wagon to the truck trailer in the past? And how were the typical products of the timber industry, i.e. sawn timber and wood wool, as well as general cargo such as barrels, crates and sacks, which were common at the time, transported to truck platforms without forklift trucks and lifting devices? You could experience all of this in the Black Forest. The 1st Black Forest Timber Days took place at the historic Seebrugg railroad station and the nearby Volk sawmill in Immeneich with vehicles from the years up to 1956. Everything matched the ambience of that time, even the work clothes of the participants. Around 1000 spectators came to the Black Forest to watch the spectacle.

After 40 years of the GDR came reunification. Not much was left of the East German automotive industry; almost everything was badmouthed, bought up and flattened. It's a good thing that there are people who are aware of the values that shaped road transport in the East. Because the commercial vehicles from Eastern Europe had their qualities - the long production times of up to 30 years and the small variety of parts made them mature and robust. Every year on May 1, a large meeting is held in Hartmannsdorf near Chemnitz, where participants and tens of thousands of visitors celebrate the continued existence of the old Eastern vehicles.

On May 31 and June 1, 2025, not only the matching veteran commercial vehicles will be presented to the public in a historical setting, but also the entire environment of timber production in the Black Forest around 70 years ago. Anyone who lives in south-west Germany and is interested in old technology should not miss this event. It is also worth traveling a little further. Because what is on offer around Seebrugg station and the sawmill in Immeneich cannot be found at any other event.

For the tenth time, the "Extraordinary Therapy Weekend" took place in Pritzwalk on the company premises of truck interior designer Andy Tägder, whose luxurious cab design can be admired on his Facebook page "AT Lkwpolsterung". Around 120 highly polished tractor units, most of them with expensive tuning parts and elaborate paintwork, attended the event from July 5 to 7, 2024. Matthias Herrfurth from Berlin was on site for truckinfocus.com and photographed some of the most beautiful trucks for us. Matthias has also made a name for himself on Facebook, he has almost 30,000 followers on his very successful page "Transport - Fotografie Matthias H. / Truckspotter".

For the 17th time, a special kind of classic vehicle festival took place on the site of a southern German gravel works between Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Participants were able to let off steam with their historic vehicles and construction machinery to their heart's content and spectators were invited to marvel at the colorful goings-on without barriers and fluttering ribbons. In addition, the meeting was, as always, characterized by a variety that could hardly be surpassed. Andreas Fehsenmeier and his son Linus from Heidelberg were there for truckinfocus.com and sent us an interesting report with great photos.

Over the past decades, the name Wörnitz (Germany) has become synonymous with Europe's largest classic truck meeting. The event takes place every two years, in 2024 for the 18th time. On the rain-free weekend from September 6 to 8, around 400 vehicles gathered at the Wörnitz truck stop, including many rarities and new acquisitions. They came not only from all over Germany, but also from other countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria and Switzerland.

The IAA Transportation took place from September 17 to 22, 2024 under the motto “People and Goods on the Move”. The “leading platform for logistics, commercial vehicles and transportation” invited the world to Hanover and presented a “huge selection of innovations”, for example with regard to the transport transition. With 1,650 exhibitors from 41 countries, participation was 20 percent higher than two years ago. The internationality of 73 percent marked a record number of exhibitors from abroad. The high participation of Chinese commercial vehicle manufacturers was particularly striking.

The event “Historical Container Handling and General Freight Traffic in the Port of Hamburg” takes place twice a year after it became so popular that a one-year cycle was no longer sufficient. Apparently, organizer Jürgen Danner hit the bull's eye with his idea of a themed event where everything fits together: Vehicles, equipment, cargo and even the participants not only in action, but also in historically appropriate clothing. For truckinfocus.com, our freelancer Matthias Herrfurth photographed the vehicles at the last event in September 2024 and organizer Jürgen Danner contributed some pictures showing the lively activities that really breathe life into the event.

The biannual Hillhead Quarrying, Construction and Recycling Show is a must-attend event for British fans of heavy construction equipment. Held in a working quarry in the picturesque area outside Buxton, Derbyshire, the show attracts most of the large excavator and wheel loader manufacturers, along with a wide selection of crushing machines, dump trucks and construction-related commercial vehicles.

In addition to over 600 exhibitors, a major attraction is the live demonstrations which are held throughout the day at the quarry face. Richard Stanier sent us this pictorial report on a few of the vehicles on display.

Every year on the last weekend in July, the "Profile Truckstar Festival" is held in the Netherlands. In 2024, it took place for the 42nd time. More than 2,300 trucks gathered at the TT Circuit in Assen in the north-east of the country. No other truck event in the world can compete with such numbers. Friday was the arrival day and on Saturday and Sunday 55,000 spectators came to enjoy the vehicles. There were classic and vintage trucks to admire, but above all modern trucks arrived from all over Europe. They outdid each other with particularly elaborate paintwork and decorative and valuable add-on parts. Steve St.Schmidt set off from Berlin to report on this spectacular event and illustrate his coverage with many photos.

On June 8, 2024, it was that time again: as every year, the British Motor Museum in Gaydon hosted the "Classic and Vintage Commercial Show" over two days. What is probably the largest gathering of its kind in Europe regularly attracts up to 400 commercial vehicles from before the year 2004, with participants from other countries adding to the diversity of classic commercial vehicles. Admission is also valid for the museum, with around 400 classic cars and more than 160 tables with models of all scales. Our freelancer Richard Stanier from Stoke-on-Trent provided us with a photo report of the event.

Over the last three years, the Road Transport Expo at Stoneleigh Exhibition Centre in Warwickshire has become the most important fixture in the British commercial vehicle exhibition calendar, and this June’s event was no exception, with all of the major heavy truck builders in attendance with an impressive supporting cast of trailer and bodywork suppliers. Our freelancer Richard Stanier from Stoke-on-Trent took a look around and sent us his report with interesting photos.