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Iveco feature

Iveco, or the Industrial Vehicle Corporation, is a European automobile manufacturer, which is based in Turin, Italy and specialises in producing trucks, buses and vans.

The firm is a subsidiary of Fiat and produces an average of 200,000 commercial vehicles and 460,000 diesel engines annually.

It has 49 factories, 15 research facilities and 840 dealers with 31,000 employees. Furthermore, during the first four months of 2008, Iveco was the best-selling brand in the truck market (sales rose 90.4 per cent in this period), indicating its leading position in the commercial vehicle industry.

Iveco is still aiming to increase its share in the market and in January this year the company announced that it wants to double its sales in the 3.5-tonne gross vehicle weight van market by 2011. During 2007, the firm sold 82,118 units of this type of vehicle.

Iveco marketing director Andrew Bucci said: "The sector is booming as light truck operators continue to 'buy down' and small van operators are 'buying up'.

"While 60 per cent of these vehicles are panel vans, nearly 40 per cent are chassis-cabs and that suits us."

However, the Iveco's success has not been an overnight phenomenon and they have been working hard at perfecting its formula since it was founded in 1975.

Iveco has been making vans since its inception, one of the first of its creations being the Iveco Daily.

First produced in 1978, the Daily is a panel van vehicle that is still in production today, although it is now in its fourth generation and is available as a cabin cruiser, combi, minibus, agile or Cng.

Testament to the van's classic status is the fact that it picked up the Van of the Year 2007 prize from What Van? magazine last year, after three decades of being in production.

Henk van Leuven, managing director of Iveco UK, said of the win: "The fact that it is awarded by a team comprising the most experienced light commercial vehicle road testers in the industry highlights just how strong our Daily range is and confirms Iveco's strengths as a serious contender in the fleet and retail van markets."

The van, which underwent a revamp in 2006, was styled by Italian design house Giugiaro and the range comes in over 2,500 configurations.

Most models of the van are available between 3.2 tonnes and 6.5 tonnes and some specifications are billed as the largest panel van on the market, offering a load capacity of 17.2 metres squared.

This model, Iveco Daily 35S15, is immensely popular in Europe and in off-road markets. Its engine ranges from 96 to 146 horse power and some models have high performance turbine technology included.

It is for this versatility and practicality that the Iveco has proved to be a long-lasting favourite with many leading brands, such as Salesmark, National Car Rental and FedEx.

Last July, express transportation firm FedEx bought 60 new Iveco Daily vans as part of its pan-Europe delivery operations.

Iveco ordered the Daily 35S12 model, which has an internal shelving system coupled with a wide sliding door, making it the perfect van for transporting parcels and packages.

Iveco International key accounts and used vehicles manager, Ottavio Gioglio, commented on the deal.

He said: "We are delighted to have become suppliers of one of the world leaders in the mail and parcel sector, not least because FedEx selected our vehicles after subjecting us to a strict evaluation process that all their potential suppliers have to go through."

Each of the vans FedEx ordered is powered by a 2.3-litre HPI engine, which can deliver up to 116 horsepower.

More recently in January 2008, Iveco signed a deal to supply carpet fitting firm Salesmark with an Iveco Daily 65C18, which benefits from a 3,950 millimetre wheel base.

Matt Fisher of Salesmark explained why they chose the vehicle: "One of the major advantages of the Daily is that it is smaller and more agile than a 7.5 tonner, making it easier for our crews to make deliveries in restricted urban environments."

The message from the industry seems to be that although Iveco may not manufacture a huge range of vans, after more than 30 years on the market the Iveco Daily is here to stay.