Iveco electric vehicles soon to arrive

Iveco has outlined its zero-emission vehicle plans and expected arrivals in Australia and New Zealand during an Italian Chamber of Commerce event in Melbourne. 

The event held last month included Victorian premier Daniel Andrews and energy, environment and climate change and solar homes minister Lily D’Ambrosio. 

At the gathering, Iveco Australia and New Zealand managing director Michael May and Iveco strategic projects and industry relations manager Marco Quaranta detailed the company’s plans to introduce a broad range of zero emission vehicles locally, including light and heavy-duty models with both battery and fuel cell options.

Iveco began preparations for the introduction of alternative fuelled vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2021, with the announcement of a new Customisation and Innovation Centre (CIC) to assist with pre-launch development work in the Australian and New Zealand markets.

The first of these models will be a new generation of the Daily Electric van which will be released in Europe later this year. Iveco hopes to begin local testing of the first Australian electric models in early 2023, using the CIC for localisation, validation and customer testing.

It’s expected that a broad selection of models across various weight classes, will gradually join Iveco’s Euro6 internal combustion product line-up across a three-year period.

Quaranta says preparation for the company’s zero-emission product roll-out were progressing well.

“There is considerable preparation involved in introducing such new technologies to market,” he says. 

“We’re working through a detailed pre-launch process to ensure a smooth roll-out of these vehicles – we want to make sure the zero-emission range exceeds customer expectations both in terms of day-to-day operational performance, but more broadly across all facets of vehicle servicing, maintenance and support,” Quaranta adds.

As zero-emission roll-out preparations progress, Iveco has formed partnerships with several local organisations and bodies, tertiary institutions and Government departments, who will assist on the journey.

Meanwhile, a joint venture manufacturing facility for electric heavy-duty trucks was unveiled by EV truck startup Nikola and Iveco in September last year. 

Located in Ulm, Germany, the site is dedicated to the Nikola Tre electric heavy-duty trucks with production already underway.