Press Releases

Understanding the expectations of a vehicle customer and end user in order to translate them into marketing decisions, which in turn guide the definition of the product. In the current scenario offered by the Italian automotive industry, in which concepts such as competitiveness, innovation, technological content, strategic alliances, chain of value, and others beside are increasingly common, it is worth paying great attention to the logic on which the relationship between manufacturers and their suppliers is based.
This is what ATA (Technical Automobile Association) aims to do, with a series of conferences to analyse the various aspects related to the problem of an objective relationship between manufacturers and suppliers.
“The role of suppliers and their contribution to automotive development and innovation” is the title of the second conference in the series, which was held on May 16 at the Congress Centre of the Industrialists’ Union of Turin. Experts from the automotive industry and exponents of the business world compared experiences in the definition of the new requirements of the end-user and related marketing strategies.
Iveco, one of the sponsors of the event, was represented by Alessandro Cicchetti, General Manager for Sales & Marketing, who chose the New Daily as an example of the enhanced role played by suppliers in new product launches. The contribution made by suppliers to the New Daily was examined in four “case histories”, which included a video presentation by designer Giorgetto Giugiaro of the work done with Iveco. It was an absolute novelty that coincided with the official launch of the New Daily, which Alessandro Cicchetti chose to offer participants.
Cicchetti replied to the question “why should suppliers become central figures?” by emphasising the increased efficiency with which the intrinsic value of technologies, processes and partnership can be transmitted to the customer. With more than 1500 units sold even before its launch, the New Daily underlines the perspicacity of this approach.



The Technical Automobile Association
The mission of ATA, the Technical Automobile Association, is to maintain and increase the automotive skills present in Italy. Sustained by the Industrialists’ Union, the Turin Chamber of Commerce, AMMA (the Association of metal-working and similar industries) and ANFIA (the National Association of automotive industries), ATA promotes discussion and analysis of the situation in the Italian Automotive Industry, in order to highlight its strengths and remaining weaknesses, and to identify possible approaches to improve the situation.

Iveco
Iveco designs, manufactures, and sales a broad range of light, medium and heavy commercial vehicles, off-road trucks, city and intercity buses and coaches as well as special vehicles for applications such as fire fighting, off-road missions, civil defence and protection.
Iveco employs 32,000 people and runs 49 production units in 19 Countries in the world using excellent technologies developed in 15 research centres. Besides Europe, the company operates in China, India, Russia, Turkey, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, and South Africa. More than 4,500 service outlets in over 100 Countries guarantee technical support wherever in the world an Iveco vehicle is at work.
www.iveco.com

Turin, 17 May 2006

For more information: pressoffice@iveco.com