Once again at IAA, an international jury of journalists from trade publications across Europe selected the prestigious “Stars of the Year” award winners for 2025. These awards, including the International Truck of the Year, the Truck Innovation Award, and the International Trailer Award honor outstanding achievements and innovations in the transport and logistics industry.
“IAA Transportation 2024 impressively demonstrates how the commercial vehicle sector is advancing towards climate neutrality through innovative technologies and forward-looking concepts,” Hildegard Müller, president of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), said.
But, in keeping with widely expressed sentiment at this year’s show, the enthusiasm for the transition to clean transportation platforms was tempered by the challenges facing the CV industry.
“The transition to software-defined vehicles requires completely new approaches to vehicle development. This goes hand in hand with successfully adapting new business models, like subscription-based features,” explained Sebastian Tschödrich, global client partner for automotive sector at Capgemini, at the awards ceremony. “Meanwhile, transitioning to sustainable propulsion systems poses a particular challenge for heavy vehicles. The industry needs leaders like those honored today who successfully drive the transformation with courageous ideas, foresight and decisiveness.”
Kögel
The Kögel Cool Liteshell took first place in the concept category, while its new underride guard took second place in the components category.
The Cool Liteshell, billed as the “new generation refrigerated vehicle,” is distinguished by its panel technology, which dispenses with a steel top layer. Instead, the panels consist of milled PU rigid foam and a top layer of glass fiber mats with a TPU outer shell.
The GRP cross-members in the vehicle floor offer a further efficiency boost, reducing the material thickness and increases the foam volume by around 20%. In total, the unladen weight of the vehicle is reduced by 700kg (1,540 lbs).
Schmitz Cargobull
Schmitz Cargobull won the International Trailer Award 2025 for the body category with the fully electric S.KOe COOL refrigerated box body semi-trailer. The brand also took home second-place finishes in chassis and in concept, plus one third-place finish in the safety category
This is the second time the brand has won first place in the highly regarded International Trailer Awards, formerly known as the Trailer Innovation Award.
“For the S.KOe COOL, we use our module system, which gives us lots of configuration options,” said Andreas Schmitz, chairman of the board of Schmitz Cargobull AG. “It can be equipped with our electric cooling unit, high-voltage battery and electric axle, or ‘battery only’ solution, as well as with the new economically efficient concept of a diesel-powered cooling unit with an auxiliary electric drive for zero-emissions operation.”
Kässbohrer
Kässbohrer was the winner in the chassis category for the International Trailer Awards 2025. The award is Kässbohrer’s seventh award in the past five contests and its second chassis win.
Read more: IAA 2024: Welcome to the fair
The winning Kässbohrer 12-15 Flexi curtainsider is a further development of longer, higher-capacity vehicles, presenting an all-in-one-vehicle compliant with all EU wide vehicle dimensions.
Within the EU, there are different regulations for vehicle dimensions and capacities. While Nordic regions allow for 25, 25 m and 32 m longer higher-capacity vehicles, the standard in EU is 13.6 m semi-trailers.
Built on Kässbohrer’s award-winning extension engineering, the 12-15 Flexi curtainsider is a extendable and retractable curtainsider vehicle. A prime example of Enginuity, the extension and retraction can be done while the vehicle is loaded. When fully retracted, the vehicle is 12 m in length, and while fully extended, the vehicle is 15 m in length. The standard operating length is 13.6 m.
Krone
Krone won the ITA in the smart trailer category with its ‘Krone Smart Assistant,’ now available as standard in all new KRONE trailers.
The Krone Smart Assistant was developed to make the daily lives of drivers noticeably easier and, at the same time, significantly increase the efficiency of fleet operations.
The trailer status and important data can be called up and reported digitally and in real time by scanning the QR code on the trailer. Without having to install additional apps, drivers can use a standard smartphone to record the condition of the trailer, and report damage or defects, thus enabling a quick response. Repairs are initiated immediately and unnecessary downtime is avoided.
“The Krone Smart Assistant acts as a digital operating system for the trailer and makes it possible to have all important information available at all times,” said Ralf Faust, the managing director for service at Krone Trailer. “We wanted to create a solution that provides maximum support for the driver, without training or complicated systems. The Smart Assistant is intuitive, simple and offers direct added value.”
Thermo King
Thermo King’s Advancer A-500e Spectrum made its debut at IAA and was recognized with the prestigious International Trailer Award 2025 in the environment category. The A-500e Spectrum allows for precise multi-zone temperature control across various cargo types. The unit is powered by AxlePower, which can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 12 tons per year for distribution trailers.
Thermo King’s new E-Series lineup represents a leap forward in electric refrigeration for vans and trucks and features advanced connectivity for real-time monitoring and energy management, ensuring optimal performance and reduced operational costs.
“Thermo King’s dedication to innovation and the decarbonization of the cold chain is unwavering,” said Claudio Zanframundo, president of Thermo King EMEA Truck, Trailer, Bus and Global Marine, Rail and Air. “Our growing investment in technology, research and development has enabled us to provide fully qualified electric solutions across all transport segments, positioning Thermo King as an industry leader.
“At IAA 2024, we are demonstrating our capability to provide these solutions today, supporting the transition to low-carbon operations for commercial fleets leveraging multi-modal solutions.”
