Volvo, Renault and ZF sweep IAA Transportation awards

Volvo’s electric range wins on breadth

Volvo Trucks won International Truck of the Year 2027 for its new generation of battery-electric heavy trucks, covering the FH, FM, FMX and FH Aero electric families. The 24-member jury awarded Volvo 86 points, ahead of the Ford Trucks F-Max, IVECO S-eWay Tractor, MAN eTGM and Mercedes-Benz eArocs 400 — four of the five shortlisted trucks were fully electric. Volvo Trucks president Roger Alm collected the trophy at the Stars of the Year gala.

The win extends electric trucks’ hold on the award to four consecutive years. Jurors singled out the range’s spread from regional and construction work to long-haul transport: the FH Aero Electric extended-range version offers up to 700 km per charge, while the next-generation FH, FM and FMX Electric Versatile models manage up to 470 km.

Jury chairman Florian Engel said the range showed battery-electric heavy transport moving “from individual applications towards a comprehensive transport solution.”

Renault’s Trafic wins van title unanimously — and makes history

All 26 jurors ranked the fourth-generation Renault Trafic E-Tech Electric first, making it the first unanimous winner of International Van of the Year 2027. The Stellantis ProOne Compact finished second, the Farizon V7E and Volkswagen Caddy Cargo shared third, and the Hyundai Staria Electric and Maxus Deliver 7 rounded out the shortlist.

The new Trafic is also the first production model from the Flexis van programme, and the win comes 25 years after the previous Trafic took the same title — Renault’s sixth win overall, following the Master in 2025 and the Kangoo in 2022 and 2012.

Built on an 800-volt architecture for ultra-rapid DC charging, the electric Trafic is rated for up to 450 km of range from a 150 kW motor producing 345 Nm of torque. Payload reaches 1.25 tonnes, load volume up to 5.8 m³, and towing capacity up to 2 tonnes.

IVOTY chairman Jarlath Sweeney said the jury focused on the van’s contribution to efficiency, safety, environmental performance and sustainable light-goods transport.

ZF’s TraXon Hybrid takes innovation honours

ZF Friedrichshafen won the 2027 Truck Innovation Award for its TraXon Hybrid transmission, which integrates an electric drive directly into ZF’s existing TraXon heavy-duty architecture — letting manufacturers add hybrid functions to conventional drivelines. Depending on configuration, the system can deliver braking-energy recuperation, electric assistance for the combustion engine, or electric-only driving.

ZF took the award with 77 jury points, ahead of BYD’s Flash Charging and Blade Battery 2.0, cellcentric’s BZA375 fuel cell, the IVECO–PlusAI Level 4 autonomous driving programme, and Scania’s ProDriver.

Trailer awards span five categories

The International Trailer Award 2027 was also presented at IAA Transportation, with winners named across five categories. Schmitz Cargobull took the Body award for its S.KO CITY with S.CU MT-DUALEVAP refrigeration unit, while Kögel won the Chassis category with the electric-truck-optimised KÖGEL LIGHT PLUS. 

Kässbohrer topped the Components category with its Modular Floor System K.MFS, and Krone won the Future category for its TrAIler Health Monitoring System. A new Community Award, decided by public voting, went to Koluman for its Adaptive Hidden Sidewall Platform Trailer.