Iveco to bring back bus production in Italy

Iveco Bus – part of the Iveco Group - plans to apply for access to a Development Contract of the Italian Ministry of Economic Development as part of the opportunities made possible by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). The aim is to initiate manufacturing investments and research & development activities in Italy within the national automotive supply chain, with particular focus on the dedicated component sector.

The investment will support the energy transition of Italy’s mass passenger transport segment, developing and introducing advanced propulsion technologies in the country.

Iveco’s sites involved in the project are based in Turin and Foggia. The expansion of engineering and manufacturing activities for electric batteries will be studied for the plants in Turin; the installation of new lines for the final assembly of high-tech, zero-emission (Battery Electric Vehicles ‒ BEV, and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles ‒ FCEV) and low-emission (latest-generation methane/biomethane and diesel/biodiesel) buses are being considered for the Foggia location.

The initial manufacture of the new buses will be launched in the other Group plants that are already dedicated to Iveco Bus production. It will then be continued and enriched with value added technology in Foggia, by means of alternative propulsion systems produced in Turin and hydrogen fuel cells. Production will be completed in Foggia with additional components largely supplied by the national automotive mechanics supply chain.

The research & development and manufacturing of batteries, as well as the supply of engines for the low emission vehicles, will be entrusted to FPT Industrial, the Group’s brand specialised in powertrain technologies and a global leader in the design, production, and sale of powertrains.

Subject to the acceptance of the application for a Development Contract, the transition to an advanced design phase and therefore an operational phase would take place in 2022 with the goal of producing the first buses in spring 2023.