As part of a global transformation process, Iveco has announced the development of a Customisation & Innovation Centre (CIC) and this means Iveco truck full manufacturing in Australia is to end.
In announcing the development of the CIC, the company also advised it would move to fully import its Heavy Duty range from Iveco’s manufacturing facility in Madrid, Spain. This transition is anticipated to take place from the end of June 2022.
Iveco currently fully imports its Light Duty, Medium Duty, selected Heavy Duty, Minibus and Off-Road models. As an example, the first cab off the rank will probably be the new S-WAY model, which will arrive next year and launch in Australia according to the global launch plan.
Iveco states that the decision to fully import its Heavy Duty range will allow the operation in Australia to more closely align model year introduction timings with that of its parent company in Europe.
The fully imported dual control Acco model for the local waste market will be part of this new process arriving here as a built up truck and will be customised at the CIC to ensure its compatibility with the needs of the waste industry in Australia.
The arrival of the new S-WAY model for the Australian and New Zealand market will probably herald the end of full truck manufacturing at the Dandenong plant for Iveco. This will mark the last chapter of a long history, dating back to 1952 of full truck manufacturing taking place at the Dandenong facility.
“Historically, our most unique value proposition has been our ability to customise and specialise vehicles for our market, leveraging the expertise of our local engineering team and the local facility,” said Michael May, Managing Director Iveco Australia and New Zealand. “By further enhancing this service, we believe there is considerable potential to provide additional value to existing and prospective customers, while growing the CIC’s capacity and scope of work.
“Given our brand’s long history of manufacturing in Australia, this next step towards customisation strengthens our ability to remain agile and responsive to demanding regional requirements. This move will also ensure that we are in a position to offer the market the very latest in Iveco performance, comfort and safety innovation, in the most timely fashion, and at the same time, capitalise on our design and validation engineering expertise and customisation capabilities.”
Iveco stated that it will continue to engage with its employees who may be impacted by this announcement, and will provide appropriate support to the involved workforce.
According to Iveco the CIC is a business unit that will, “leverage Iveco’s local engineering and manufacturing expertise, transforming the company’s focus towards the customisation and innovation of its vehicles for local markets.”
Promoting innovation will be another aspect of the CIC, with Iveco saying it will be placed to work more closely with Europe and local partners to explore areas such as alternative propulsion solutions, digitisation, connectivity and autonomous driving.
