Iveco is world champion!

Which is the best truck in the world? All was revealed at Solutrans …

The setting? The Palais du Commerce, a magnificent building in the Lyon city centre that was inaugurated by Napoléon III and Empress Eugénie on August 25, 1860. It was a setting befitting of a James Bond movie … the building just oozed with glamour and panache.

The audience? The captains of the commercial vehicle industry from around the world. Plus the full and associate members of the International Truck of the Year (IToY) jury.

The offering? The finest French bubbly, accompanied by suitably delectable French cuisine.

The atmosphere? Elated! Excited! Animated! It was obvious to see that everyone could not wait for the announcement of the evening: the winner of the highly sought-after IToY award.

The announcement that Iveco’s new Eurocargo had been elected International Truck of the Year 2016 was greeted with obvious delight by the Iveco team, and no one had a bigger smile than Pierre Lahutte, Iveco brand president. “We are very proud of this recognition for our New Eurocargo, the truck that the city likes, because it is respectful of people and the environment.

“It is the latest generation of a vehicle that, with half a million sales worldwide, has been holding the leadership in the European medium segment for years. In the last four years, we have won this award in all categories: this is an absolute record,” he told the guests in the palais.

This fourth award comes on the back of the “International Truck of the Year 2013” title won by the Stralis, “International Van of the Year 2015” won by the Daily and “International Coach of the Year 2016” awarded to the Magelys. “It is an important recognition of Iveco’s strong focus on technology for sustainability and reduced total cost of ownership,” commented Lahutte.

The C&K range from Ford Trucks finished in second place, while the new construction series from Ford Trucks came third.

According to the IToY 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, These include technical innovation, comfort, safety, driveability, fuel economy, environmental footprint and total cost of ownership (TCO).

According to IToY chairman Gianenrico Griffini, the Eurocargo ticks all these boxes. “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 over the last 25 years,” he noted at the gala banquet.

The IToY jury members praised the advanced features of its driveline, including its SCR-only four- or six-cylinder engines that offer improved driveability and fuel-savings as well as lower emissions.

The Eurocargo is the only Euro-6 medium-range vehicle to meet emissions standards with a single anti-emission system; the Hi-SCR system with passive diesel particulate filter. This unique solution does not change the combustion process, because it works with a fresh-air intake instead of exhaust gas recirculation.

The Iveco Tector 5 and Tector 7 engines are optimised to suit typical operating conditions of urban operations, while the new turbocharger enables the vehicle to respond dynamically on acceleration and start up, resulting in up to eight percent fuel savings.

Building on Iveco’s leadership in natural gas, the new Eurocargo is also available in a “super-eco” version that runs on compressed natural gas, offering lower environmental impact and economic advantages compared to diesel versions.

The 157 kW (210 hp) six-litre Tector engine delivers significant benefits in efficiency and emissions. Already complying with the Euro-6 step C emissions standards (required from the end of 2016), this vehicle has access to restricted areas in city centres, providing a further advantage in multi-drop operations. In addition, natural gas Eurocargo vehicles are extremely quiet, which makes them perfect for night-time urban work.

“The Eurocargo is truly the ideal partner in the city: environmentally friendly, quiet, fuel efficient, manoeuvrable and comfortable – an office on wheels – all this, together with the low TCO, makes it the partner for sustainable transport,” Lahutte pointed out.

The IToY award was originally launched in 1977 by Pat Kennett, British journalist and legendary editor of TRUCK magazine. Today, the jury members represent leading commercial vehicle magazines throughout Europe.

Moreover, in the last few years, the jury 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 jury exceeds 950 000. Yours truly represents South Africa on the jury; a huge honour for FOCUS.

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) was responsible for collating the votes of all the jury members and certifying the final result. The RHA is a trade association dedicated to the needs of road transport operators in the United Kingdom; representing more than 6 000 member companies, who, together, operate around 100 000 heavy goods vehicles.