Iveco - History

History

Iveco was incorporated on January 1st, 1975, with the merger of five different brands: Fiat Industrial Vehicles (with headquarters in Turin, Italy), OM (Brescia, Italy), Lancia Special Vehicles (Italy), Unic (France) and Magirus-Deutz (Germany).
Following the merger, the newly founded Iveco began rationalizing its product range, manufacturing plants and sales network, while keeping the original brands. From 1975 to 1979, the Iveco range included 200 basic models and 600 versions spanning from 2.7 tons of GVW for a light vehicle to over 40 tons for heavy vehicles, not to mention buses and engines.
In 1978 Iveco launched the first product in the range of light vehicles branded Iveco, the Daily. The product was originally conceived as a small industrial vehicle, reliable and structurally sound. In 1980 Iveco built the first turbo diesel engine for heavy industrial vehicles.
In the 1980s the corporate strategy was heavily oriented towards brand promotion and led to the sponsorisation of sports events, such as the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, the Davis Cup in 1982, the Jaques Cousteau expeditions in the Amazon basin in 1983 and the Raid Pigafetta, during which the Iveco-Fiat 75 PC 4x4 was first to make a full circle of the globe. Two new divisions were also formed: bus diesel engines and firefighting vehicles.
In 1984 Iveco launched the TurboStar, a heavy on-road vehicle that became a best-seller in Italy and an important player in the European market, reaching a total of 50,000 units sold in seven years.
In 1985 Iveco made the first light diesel engine with direct injection.
In 1986 Iveco Ford Truck Ltd. was incorporated, an equal share joint venture with Ford, which took over production and sales of the major vehicles in the Iveco and Ford Cargo ranges.
In the mid-1980s, Astra, which produces dumpers and construction site/quarry vehicles in Piacenza, became part of Iveco Group.
In 1989 the first diesel engine with EGR to reduce polluting emissions compatible with commercial vehicles was produced and the new Daily launched that same year was fitted with it.
In the 1990s, the EuroCargo, EuroTech, EuroTrakker and EuroStar vehicles represented a total facelift for the range. The EuroCargo and the EuroTech were named “Truck of the Year” in 1992 and 1993 respectively and, for the first time, this recognition was awarded to the same manufacturer for two years in a row.
Also in the 1990s, the Group purchased control of 60% of Enasa, a company that had been producing Pegaso industrial vehicles since 1947.
In 1991, the English company Seddon Atkinson was purchased and brought its long heritage of special vehicles for the construction and garbage collection industries.
That same year, the first TurboDaily assembly line was inaugurated at the Nanjing Motor Corporation in China.
In 1992, Iveco took over the primary constructor of industrial vehicles in Australia to form Ital, originally called International Trucks Australia and, in 2001, Iveco Trucks Australia Limited.
In 1995 Iveco signed an agreement with Yuejin Motor Corporation of Nanchino to form the Naveco joint venture for the production of light vehicles and diesel engines. In the meantime, the firefighting vehicles division signed an agreement with Sinopec Group for the assembly of special vehicles with foam extinguishers in China. In 1996 firefighting activities in Germany were structured under the company Iveco Magirus Brandschutztechnik GmbH. The following year, these activities were boosted by the arrival of an Austrian company, Löhr, which then became Löhr Magirus. The Italian plant in Foggia broke the record of 2.5 million engines produced in 20 years, and in 1999, the production of diesel powertrains reached its highest volume of 405,000 units.
In 1998 Cursor 8 came out, followed the next year by Cursor 10, the first diesel engine with a variable geometry turbine and the first common rail diesel engine for heavy industrial vehicles. The 125th anniversary of the presentation of the first Magirus ladder was celebrated together with the delivery of the five-thousandth Magirus aerial ladder produced since the Second World War.
In 2003 Iveco entirely bought out Irisbus, originally part of a joint venture with Renault.
In 2004 Iveco Motors brand was born, which became an umbrella for the production of engines, and the following year it was incorporated into the newly founded Fiat PowerTrain. At the end of 2004, the agreement between Iveco and the Chinese company Saic (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation) took effect.
In 2006 Iveco sponsored the Olympic Games in Turin with a fleet of 1,200 Iveco Irisbus buses. The year after, Iveco became sponsor of the All Blacks, New Zealand's rugby team.
In 2009 Iveco became the Trucks and Commercial Vehicle Supplier for the Moto GP, together with the historical sponsorship to the
On January 1st, 2011, Fiat Industrial was formed, incorporating CNH, Iveco and FPT Industrial. In September of the same year, the Fiat Industrial Village was inaugurated in Turin, a multipurpose centre belonging to Fiat Industrial and created for the sales, assistance and product presentation for the Iveco, New Holland and FPT Industrial brands.
On January 15th, 2012, Iveco won the 33rd edition of the Dakar rally with the Petronas De Rooy team and the Dutch driver Gerard De Rooy, behind the wheel of an Iveco Powerstar. De Rooy was followed by drivers Stacey and Biasion behind the wheel of two Iveco Trakker Evolution 2 vehicles, equipped with an FPT Industrial C13 engine with over 900 hp.