IVECO History

[Vascoingles]

Iveco Italy 1974 - to date

Set up in 1974 to coordinate the ideas and technical advance of Fiat, Magirus Deutz, Unic and Lancia the title was The Industrial Vehicles Corporation which soon became shortened to Iveco. Although at first Iveco was not a marque in its own right all new models carried the name Iveco as well as the name of the manufacturing company.
Typical was the 16 ton Fiat 159 introduced in 1976 built in Turin it was given the Fiat name but was principally of Unic design developed at the Trappes plant near Paris, power came from a Unic CP3 6 cylinder diesel engine bored out to provide 160 instead of the original 140 bhp. Similiarly Fiats OM range of medium duty commercials were powered by Magirus Deutz air cooled diesel engines. Although it did not have specific expertise in the heavy on-road vehicle sector, from the start Iveco presented itself as a European manufacturer in all segments of industrial road transport.
Its strengths were its consolidated experience in the field of light vehicles, which was particularly strong thanks to OM; good competence in the medium duty sector thanks to Fiat, OM and Unic, and significant expertise from Magirus in the heavy “off-road” segment. The idea of only competing in the light and medium vehicle market did not seem acceptable and Iveco therefore chose the road of total competition, undertaking a commitment to heavy vehicles that would continue throughout the company’s history. In its early years, the company focused on rationalising, integrating and optimising the various manufacturing and commercial structures that had been independent until then, and the first centralised functional structure emerged. From a marketing viewpoint, these years saw the launch of the Daily (1978), the Turbo (1981) and the Turbostar (1984), three vehicles that symbolised Iveco’s entrepreneurial success in Europe.
Once the crisis in the early Nineties had been overcome, a new period of change began, fuelled by increasingly fierce competition. In order to respond more effectively to the growing specialisation of the market, Iveco broke its structure down into specialist corporate units that addressed specific customers divided by product type. In those years, the company continued to boost its strategic presence in the world: in 1992 it bought out the Ital company (Iveco Trucks Australia Limited), which still plays a very important role in the Pacific rim area, and Iveco Mercosul was created in Brazil in 1997, an essential base for manufacturing and distribution operations all over South America.
In 1995 the EuroClass luxury coach was voted International Coach of the Year, and in 1999 Iveco and Renault V.I. decided to combine their efforts in the public transport field by merging their respective bus operations. The result was Irisbus, one of the major manufacturers in the passenger transport sector, which was further strengthened by the acquisition of the Hungarian company Ikarusbus. Constantly growing attention was paid in those years to the integration of products and services, both to respond comprehensively to customers’ requirements and to combat the extremely cyclic nature of the automotive market. This strategy led to the creation of Transolver in 1997, which took Iveco into the world of financial services.
On the commercial front, in 1998 the EuroCargo, which was sold in over ninety countries and led the market in Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain, Bulgaria and Slovenia, was voted the Best Imported Truck in Germany. In 2000 it was the light segment that won awards, when the Daily was voted International Van of the Year, and the one millionth vehicle left the assembly line.
At the end of 2001 Iveco embarked on an important new integration process: the acquisition of Irisbus was completed, and at the same time the Truck business unit was created, the more compact heir to the Medium and Heavy business units, concentrating the company’s expertise more efficiently.
In 2002 the Stralis Active Space went on the market, and was elected International Truck of the Year the following year, while the vehicle range was completed with the launch of the Active Time and Active Day versions. In the medium range, the Eurocargo was launched, equipped with a new cab designed by Bertone. Important new features also appeared in 2004: the New Daily, with 3 litre HPI – and HPT engines, the new Trakker range for heavy quarry-construction applications and, finally, the Executive Space version of the Stralis. In the early months of 2004, Iveco created the Iveco Motors brand, which operates within the engine market autonomously, so interacting more effectively with external customers. On January 1, 2004, the company launched a new reorganisation programme, with the goal of stepping up the coordination level between transverse processes, while focusing on customer satisfaction, product quality, respect for the environment and innovation.