Dear friends,

As we are all too painfully aware of, the COVID-19 pandemic has made physical meetings and intercontinental travel very limited. The question is when intercontinental travel will be possible again and will be experienced as safe and trusted. For example, the Australian airline Qantas has canceled all its international flights until June 2021. Also the Olympic Games in Tokyo have been delayed until July 23 - August 8, 2021. We can only hope that in a year the situation will be different than now and that we will be able to meet each other again physically.

We believe that it will be of great interest to everyone who is engaged in heavy vehicle transport & technology to visit China and to see the progress in the Chinese transport and logistics systems with fascinating innovations in a broad range of areas.   

Therefore it has been decided to further delay the HVTT16 until September 7-9 of 2021. As there is still a great deal of uncertainty about the extent to which we will be able and willing to travel next year, the organizing committee in China has decided to run a “hybrid” symposium where it will be possible to participate in the HVTT16 both physically in Qingdao and online.

Thereby those who like to attend the HVTT16 can sign up, but only have to decide later whether to do so physically or online. The price for online participation will about a quarter of  the cost for physical participation. 

A new timetable will be drawn up for the completion of the current scientific process. It will also be possible to submit new papers with a separate timetable. The additional call for papers will follow shortly. John De Pont will make the exact details known.

The Chinese organizing committee hopes that the HVTT16 still will primarily be a physical symposium and welcomes as many international participants as possible in Qingdao. Please make plans for a physical meeting, but be prepared to participate online if need be.

See you in Qingdao or online!

The Chinese Organizing Committee

Zhang Hao

Mats Harborn

The HVTT16 Scientific Chair

John de Pont

The HVTT Forum President

Loes Aarts