The International Truck of the Year 2016, chosen by a group of 25 senior truck journalists, representing 25 magazines throughout Europe, has been announced. The honour was given to Iveco’s New Eurocargo, and the award was presented to Pierre Lahutte, Iveco Brand President, during the Solutrans gala dinner at the Lyon Chamber of Commerce, France.
In a neck-and-neck competition, with a winning score of 101 votes, Iveco’s new medium-duty truck fought off a strong challenge from Renault Trucks’ C and K range, which finished in second place, while Ford Trucks’ new construction series was third.
According to the International Truck of the Year rules, the annual IToY award is presented to the truck launched in the previous 12 months which has made the greatest contribution to road transport efficiency based on several main criteria, including technical innovation, comfort, safety, drivability, fuel economy, environmental footprint and total cost of ownership (TCO).
The New Eurocargo cab design, which echoes the styling of the new Iveco Daily, features ‘city-friendly’ contours with horizontal lines which underline its main focus on multi-drop distribution in urban environments, whilst delivering a substantial drag coefficient reduction at higher speeds on the open highway.
The New Eurocargo cab interior has a multi-functional ‘office on-the-move’ with its central console pre-configured to integrate with smartphones, tablets and GPS-based navigation systems, as well as advanced telematics solutions. The latter are managed by the Drivelinc central touchscreen display, which offers an interface for messaging, fleet management and driving-style support.
The International Truck of the Year journalists (who all had the chance to drive the new Eurocargo some months ago) praised the advanced features of its driveline, including its SCR-only four or six cylinder engines, which are said to offer improved drivability and fuel-savings as well as lower CO2 emissions.
New Eurocargo also has eco gear-changing strategies in its two-pedal AS Tronic automated manual transmission, plus an eco-roll function to encourage fuel-saving ‘coasting’. Savings in diesel consumption are also achieved by the use of low-viscosity engine oils and the fitment of a ‘smart’ fan.
The Natural Power CNG version Eurocargo Iveco will be able to meet ever-tighter restrictions on diesel-engined trucks in major European cities. Its low noise footprint and low emissions make the Natural Power Eurocargo capable of handling delivery tasks in environmentally sensitive areas.
“Iveco has delivered a new medium duty truck that, once again, raises the bar in a highly competitive segment, in which Eurocargo has set the market benchmark in the last 25 years,” said Gianenrico Griffini, International Truck of the Year Chairman.
The International Truck of the Year award was originally launched in 1977 by the British journalist and editor of the UK’s Truck magazine, Pat Kennett. Today, the 25 jury members represent leading commercial vehicle magazines throughout Europe. Moreover, in the last few years, the IToY Group has extended its sphere of influence by appointing ‘associate members’ in the growing truck markets of China, India, South Africa, Australia, Brazil and Japan. Altogether, the combined truck-operator readership of the 25 IToY full-jury members’ magazines, as well as those of its six associate members, exceeds 950,000.