​The 4-vehicle platooning pilot conducted by IVECO within the framework of the C-Roads Italy on the Brenner Motorway has tested for the first time platooning together with Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) – with participating vehicles communicating with each other and connected to the infrastructure – providing glimpse into a future integration of autonomous vehicles and a smart infrastructure.

The next step is a cross-border test involving Italy and Austria to demonstrate interoperability across different European countries.


IVECO is making progress on the path to autonomous driving with the development of its vehicles’ advanced connectivity and automated applications. It has recently made significant advances through its participation in the C-Roads Italy project with the aim of testing in real traffic conditions Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) based on Vehicle to Everything (V2X) technologies in truck platooning applications and combined scenarios of trucks and passenger cars.

IVECO conducted a pilot test on the Brenner Motorway, where 4 vehicles have covered 300,000 km in 3,500 hours spread over 29 weeks, driving in platooning configuration. During the test, the vehicles have received information from the infrastructure through the C-ITS and alerted the drivers to events on the road, such as roadworks, traffic congestion, vehicles stopped on the road and dynamic speed limits. The pilot also tested for the first time truck-passenger car cooperation, with the system identifying a car intending to enter the truck’s lane and alerting the driver.

The test showed that the platooning function is stable and has provided the data needed to analyze its technical feasibility and business model in view of a future introduction on the market. The pilot is the first tangible demonstration that, from a technological point of view, the V2X technology that connect a vehicle to the road infrastructure is ready for introduction in the near future. It has also shown the significant advantages of the communication between vehicle and C-ITS in terms of driver comfort and safety on the roads, as drivers are alerted in advance to potentially dangerous events on the road ahead and have more time to react effectively.

Valerio Liga, IVECO Innovation - Autonomous Driving & Connectivity, stated: “The C-Road Italy project represents an important step on our path to autonomous driving. However, the results of the work we are doing in projects such as this will bring a stream of improvements to our drivers’ comfort and safety, with features that will be able to assist them increasingly effectively. In fact, the drivers who participated in this pilot have indicated that they would like a feature capable of providing them with the type of information they received during the test. This type of information exchange between connected vehicles and smart roads will be key to achieving autonomous driving.”

The next step in the project will be a cross-border test involving Italy and Austria to demonstrate the C-ITS interoperability in different European countries. The Milan Polytechnic is analysing and evaluating the impact of C-ITS and the benefits it can bring to road safety.