TRUCK NEWS
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IVECO DELIVERS HEALTHY ‘STATE OF THE NATION’ REPORT Iveco’s 33rd ‘State of the Nation’ press conference - the first for several years – was recently held at its UK headquarters in Basildon. Export & Freight’s Phil Eaglestone was there. Special guest for the day was Mike Hawes, Chief Executive Officer of the SMMT, who was joined by a number of Iveco directors who delivered upbeat reports on the past year’s activities and confident predictions for the year ahead. Describing 2021 as a pivotal year for Iveco in the UK , Truck Business Line Director, Gareth Lumsdaine, told the gathering journalists: “Our market is up. Our volumes are up. Our product range is the strongest it’s ever been, and with the ambitions of 2035 and 2040 moving even closer, we’re strengthening our position as a leader in alternative fuels.” He added: “Of course, the last two years have meant tough times for all, for businesses - with the challenges of Brexit, change, COVID - and now with spiralling energy costs, and for those of us in truck manufacturing, semi-conductor and supply chain shortages constraining our ability to deliver. “In that sense, we’ve been hit like all our competitive manufacturer colleagues, but apart from a 2-week layoff when production ceased through a lack of components, we think we were in a better position than most. We kept our order book open and we’ve continued to build, albeit maybe not as fast as we would have liked.” He said driver shortages, changes to the way we retail and shop, the need to respond to climate change and decarbonisation, the demands of clean air and low emission zones, and the challenges of meeting London’s new Direct Vision Standard all combined to have a huge impact on the demand for trucks in 2021. So how did Iveco do in all this? “2021 was the strongest year we’ve had here in the UK for over a decade. That comes from doing the right thing. However gratifying the trends are, the important thing is - they tell a story about our dealers - their stoicism, their strength and their determination to support our customer base, about our people - working from home, working long hours, going the extra mile and focusing on getting it right ...and about our products.” So what about 2022? “Things are improving -
and we do believe that as we move further into the year, things will continue to ease gradually, but right now, market registrations reflect supply, far more than demand. We’re expecting tractor registrations to pick up faster as supply improves and demand drags itself out of two tough years. We’re expecting rigids - eight wheelers in particular - to be a bit slower as the effects of last year’s shortages and lack of body slots at bodybuilders continue to prolong lead times.”
VAN MARKET Meanwhile, there was an equally upbeat report from Iveco’s Light Business Line Director, Mike Cutts, saying that from 3.5 to 6 tonnes, volumes increased more than any other brand on the market. “As a manufacturer focused more on the needs of professionals, our Daily product was wellsuited to capitalise on the strongest growth areas - dot com, construction and the utilities. Indeed, some 70% of our 3.5 tonne volumes were chassis-cab, bodied vehicles as opposed to simple white vans. Not only that, we took the strategic decision to re-enter the dot com channel in particular, with a 5-year strategy. As an example, we delivered 645 three and a half tonne Dailys to Tesco last year whilst other manufacturers struggled to supply.” He added: “After a strong performance in 2021, and with a healthy order book right now, we’re continuing to be bullish. We have our exciting new Model Year 22 Daily. Launched some 6 months ago, and now arriving on the UK roads, New Daily takes innovation and connectivity to new heights with best-inclass comfort and safety, even greater levels of mission focus, and reductions in TCO. “It has a new 6-speed manual gearbox. Precision gear engagement and the very best in gearshift feel and comfort will make it a favourite for drivers, especially in urban around-town applications. It adopts new state-of-the-art engine technology, giving full compliance to ‘Light Duty Step D Final’ and ‘Heavy Duty Step E’ requirements ahead of new regulations.
Daily’s 2.3 litre F1A now delivers up to 6% fuel savings over the previous model, whilst its new 6-speed manual gearbox enables a torque increase of up to 15%, and later this year, we’ll be launching our electric Daily.”
ALTERNATIVE FUELS On the future for alternative fuels, Jorge Assensio, Medium and Heavy Product Manager and Alternative Fuels Business, said the greatest challenge is to deliver a new, greener, cleaner world, which has huge implications for those in road transport. “Fossil fuels like diesel aren’t good for our environment. It’s an inescapable fact, and despite our success in reducing the harmful emissions these fuels produce, we cannot get away from the reality that - even under the exacting provisions of today’s Euro VI - burning one litre of diesel produces 2.63 kgs of CO2. That was the case in 1930. And it remains the case in 2022. “If we are to deliver the new, greener, cleaner world we all want then that has to change. Yes, it can be done, but there is no obvious route to achieving that. “At the moment, there is still much discussion on the right and wrong ways of doing so, and for sure, there will be no ‘one answer fits all’ solution for several decades to come,” he said. “But the good news is that we as van and truck manufacturers, along with all our competitive colleagues, have entered that marathon. We’ve got the gear, we’ve done the training, and already we’re up and running. “Biomethane is a gateway to the future - and Iveco will continue to develop it as a mainstream alternative to diesel, but it is an interim solution. We expect its popularity to peak around 2030 when emissions-free solutions become a real world, practical alternative. The next part of the journey will be battery electric, followed by hydrogen - in particular, hydrogen fuel cell. That is what we are working on now, in partnership with those who will supply the all-important support infrastructure that’s going to be needed to make it work.”
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