The visual highlight on Iveco’s stand was its Vision concept, which offers some clues as to features that may appear on future generation Daily vans.
The diesel/electric hybrid uses lightweight carbon fibre panels to increase payload.
UK product manager Martin Flach says: “We are trying to maximise fuel consumption per kilo of load carriage.”
The dual energy concept van has the ability to self-adapt to the most suitable driving mode according to its environment – electric for urban areas and diesel for out of town journeys. Other features include 360 degree visibility from the cab with a wraparound windscreen removing the A pillar blind spot, LED lighting and airbags to hold loads in place. A rear view camera is displayed on a panoramic screen above the windscreen and the Vision can automatically adjust its tyre pressures according to the load on board to improve road holding and fuel consumption.
Iveco also chose the CV Show for the UK launch of its eight-speed automatic
Himatic transmission, which it believes will open up new opportunities for the Daily van. Big existing supermarket customers Asda and Tesco will exclusively take Himatic models and Flach says the same applies to nearly all home delivery fleets, so the challenge is to win more business.
“We’ve got to go in where there’s an incumbent,” he says.
He adds that Himatic also gives Iveco a chance to get the Daily into blue light sectors, which favour autos, and predicts that in a year’s time the system will be the default choice with only a minority of customers specifying manual versions.
