Iveco to manufacture its own BEV and FCEV trucks in Europe

Iveco wants to produce and market battery-electric and fuel-cell trucks under its own name. The news comes as little surprise, as the company had been working with electric trucks on the road since 2019, albeit originally not on its own.

The news comes after Iveco unveiled the Iveco Heavy Duty BEV on the sidelines of the Truck Grand Prix at the Nürburgring about ten days ago. The Iveco S-Way platform is based on the battery-electric and fuel cell variants (the Iveco Heavy Duty FCEV). Thanks to a modular architecture, the platform can accommodate both battery and fuel cell drive technologies. Both models are equipped with an FPT Industrial electric axle and Proterra batteries. The fuel cell technology in the Heavy Duty FCEV comes from Bosch.

According to the manufacturer, the Heavy Duty BEV can cover up to 500 kilometres on one battery charge. The battery packs have a total capacity of 738 kWh (nine packs). Charging is possible at 350 kW, which means the battery reaches 80 per cent in 90 minutes. In terms of power, the battery-electric model offers 480 kW. The 4×2 tractor unit is scheduled to be launched on the European market in the fourth quarter of 2023.

The Heavy Duty FCEV has a range of up to 800 kilometres and the electric axle drive offers 400 kW. According to Iveco, the model will be delivered in France, Switzerland and Germany from the end of the year. Refuelling takes around 20 minutes for this variant. Both vehicles are manufactured at the Ulm plant and are available through Iveco’s distribution network, which includes 254 dealers across Europe.

The key data was previously known, because the technology comes from another well-known manufacturer: Nikola Motors. In 2019, Iveco and its parent company at the time, CNH Industrial, had invested US$250 million in Nikola Motors to bring the electric trucks to market in Europe. Iveco was to supply the chassis as part of the partnership.

In May 2023 Nikola said goodbye to the European market and Iveco took over the joint venture completely. Since the beginning of July, Nikola Iveco Europe has been trading as EVCO. This is not only similar to the name Iveco, but stands for ‘Electric Vehicles COmpany’. iveco.com