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Rod Chapman6 May 2015
NEWS

Auto Daily expands Iveco's horizons

Iveco Australia says the addition of a new 'Hi-Matic' auto transmission will usher in a new era for its long-established LCV

Iveco Australia says it's set to unleash a new offensive on Australia's light-duty commercial segment, with the arrival of a new automatic transmission to broaden the range's appeal and open up new markets.

Previously only available with a six-speed manual or automated manual transmission, the new Daily – which was unveiled to the nation's press at the Australian Automotive Research Centre in Victoria last week – can now be specified with a ZF-sourced eight-speed 'Hi-Matic' transmission.

The new auto brings with it a benchmark spread of ratios in the local LCV sphere, which previously was ruled by the '7G-TRONIC' seven-speed auto available in the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter.

The Sprinter dominates Australia's large van market, with its 2736 new examples registered last year equating to a leading market share of 19.5 per cent. That's a significant slab indeed given the 3501kg to 8000kg GVM category also includes light-duty trucks, with the Sprinter bettered only by Isuzu's N-Series range.

In comparison, the Daily achieved sales of 777 units last year across both van and cab/chassis variants, for a 5.5 per cent slice of the market. That placed the Daily behind the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, Fiat Ducato and Renault Master, but ahead of the Ford Transit and Volkswagen Crafter.

Of those 777 vans, 714 were cab/chassis models, with around 75 per cent of those destined for motorhome conversion. However, with the arrival of the auto, Iveco Australia's Product & Marketing Manager, Marco Quaranta, says the new Daily will pursue fresh opportunities.

"The market leader Mercedes-Benz has an automatic transmission but now we have a better automatic transmission, so of course this will be a big breakthrough," he said, speaking at the model's press launch.

Mr Quaranta says the sixth-generation model will now be able to target the emergency services sectors, while also attracting tenders from customers such as Australia Post, courier fleets and the rental market.

"They all look for comfort and safety and we now have the vehicle to compete in that market," he says.

Mr Quaranta says he also expects that the percentage of Daily vans sold compared to cab/chassis versions will increase significantly with the advent of the new range.

Available in van, single-cab and double-cab cab/chassis formats in a choice of three power ratings, the new rear-drive Daily is priced from $49,501 and offers GVMs from 3800kg to 7000kg. Payloads range from 1630kg to 4582kg and internal volumes from nine to a monster 19.6 cubic metres.

The entry-level 2.3-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel, with single conventional turbo, produces 93kW and 320Nm, while a 3.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel, with variable geometry turbo, produces 125kW and 430Nm. The power range tops out with a twin-turbo version of the 3.0-litre engine, which Iveco says produces 150kW and 470Nm.

The eight-speed Hi-Matic auto adds a $4158 premium over the standard six-speed manual transmission.

The new Daily has arrived at a time of intense competition in the large van and cab/chassis market, in which the Transit is new, both Ducato and Master are recently revised, and the Sprinter remains dominant.

However, Mr Quaranta says the new platform has already proven its worth on the international stage, having been awarded the title of 'International Van of the Year 2015' at the IAA expo in Germany – the world's premiere commercial vehicles trade show.

"At Van of the Year there was a common agreement among the industry and the journalists that it's been one of the most competitive years since the introduction of the award, because there were so many new models," he says.

"But it was also said that it was not that difficult to decide who would win because Iveco has the biggest innovation, the biggest introduction with the Hi-Matic, and all the other features that really made the difference.

"So yes, it's a competitive environment and there are new models, but we believe we have something really different from the competition."

Mr Quaranta says the new Daily range will soon expand with the addition of a 4x4 variant "at the end of the year or early next year", plus the arrival of a 22-seater minibus.

"We are importing a couple of prototypes [of the minibuses]," he says.

"That's a program we will run with some operators and customers, and it's very likely that we will start that in early 2016."

The 4x4 will be of particular interest to a range of clients, including fire authorities, the mining sector, and various government departments.

The extra momentum delivered by the new Daily will also lead to an expansion of Iveco Australia's dealer network, says Mr Quaranta.

"Surely now with the new product we will get more interest, there's more ambition for our network development," he says.

"But we will also see an interest in salespeople coming to work for our existing dealers, because surely we will be growing our volumes so the dealers will have to increase their sales force."

The fresh impetus will serve as a welcome boost for Iveco Australia, which sustained an 11.8 per cent drop in sales growth in 2014 over the previous year.

However, with the arrival of the revised ACCO vocational truck late last year, this new Daily, and the impending release of its revised Stralis with optimised Cursor II engine at next week's Brisbane Truck Show, the company now has a raft of fresh product with which it can renew its market attack.

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