Press Releases

The Economic Commission for Europe of the United Nations Organisation held its 63rd annual session in Geneva from 30th March to 1st April 2009. Among the topics under discussion was climate change mitigation and adaptation and, presenting the situation regarding Commercial Vehicles was Paolo Monferino, Chief Executive Officer of Iveco SpA..
Monferino highlighted the importance of road transport to the session and the achievements of manufacturers in improving actual vehicle fuel efficiency in the face of progressively evolving exhaust tail-pipe emission standards. The case for second generation bio-fuels was made, recognising the importance of renewable fuels in a future sustainable transport system. In addition, future trends in terms of the application of hybrid power trains in commercial vehicle applications was discussed, as was the importance of the non-transport contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and the need for these too to be addressed.
Monferino also drew the attention of the participants of the session to the significant barrier posed by the current economic situation to new vehicle product innovations. The importance of the survival of the industry in the light of 2009 vehicle sales figures was stressed and the necessity to restrict new legislative requirements to those truly urgent safety and environmental aspects in order to conserve valuable resources. Mr Monferino made the point that personnel retention during these difficult times was of great importance in order to retain the expertise within the manufacturers’ companies and that harmonised provisions made to assist manufacturers should be made.
Iveco
Iveco designs, manufactures, and markets 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, defence and civil protection.
Iveco employs over 26,000 people and runs 27 production units in 16 Countries in the world using excellent technologies developed in 6 research centres. Besides Europe, the company operates in China, Russia, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, and South Africa. More than 4,600 service outlets in over 100 Countries guarantee technical support wherever in the world an Iveco vehicle is at work.
Torino, March 31, 2009