This question concerns Hildegard MüllerPresident of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) e.V.. The good news comes from Burtenbach in Bavaria: Kögel has made a clear commitment to Germany as a business location in this case - despite all the hurdles imposed by bureaucracy at national and European level. This is less about national pride and more about the conviction that real innovative strength can develop where people have been driving forward and perfecting trailer construction for over 90 years. Hildegard Müller was impressed by the new system used to produce the panels for Kögel's new refrigerated vehicle, the COOL LITESHELL.

Ms. Müller summarized her visit to Kögel as follows:

"Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit the headquarters and main production facility of our member Kögel Trailer GmbH in Burtenbach, Bavaria.
After a factory visit, I was able to talk to Monika Humbaur, Christian Renners and Thore Bakker, among others, about a range of current topics and their significance for Manufacturer Group II. The agenda included, for example, the challenges for SMEs in the transformation, the EU's cyber security strategy, the funding guidelines in the commercial vehicle sector and the VECTO regulation as well as the associated lawsuit by leading trailer manufacturers - and of course the ongoing customs conflict with the USA and the question of the competitiveness of the location were also discussed yesterday.

With a high level of creativity and willingness to invest, Kögel is passionate about designing and building highly innovative products for the logistics of the future. However, the company is dependent on Germany urgently becoming internationally competitive again. Medium-sized companies in particular are suffering due to the high costs of energy, labor, taxes and duties as well as bureaucracy - and are being hindered in their development opportunities as a result. This is a clear call to action for politicians in Berlin and Brussels.

Another very specific topic we discussed was the inclusion of trailers in the CO₂ fleet limits. Since the beginning of 2024, the CO₂ values for trailers in the EU must be determined using numerical simulations with VECTO TRAILER. However, the current legislation focuses on the energy efficiency of the individual vehicle and not on transport efficiency. This may create false market incentives.

Therefore, in addition to considering the energy efficiency of trailers, an assessment of the transport efficiency should also be sought, which places greater emphasis on the design of the trailer depending on its intended use and the transport task. This assessment would, for example, go beyond the standard load cases calculated in VECTO and take the use of the trailer more specifically into account.

Many thanks for the invitation to Burtenbach, the exciting practical insights, the constructive discussions and the warm hospitality. Maximilian Franz, Isabell Unseld, Stefan Mittelbach and Roman Pröbstle."