In a move anticipated for some time, IVECO has advised it will be moving to fully import its Heavy Duty range from IVECO’s manufacturing facility in Spain and this transition is anticipated to take place from the end of June 2022.
This will bring to an end 70 years of local manufacture in what was originally established as the International Harvester facility in 1952 in Dandenong, Victoria.
IVECO acquired the production plant in 1992.
The commercial vehicle manufacturer had been fully importing its Light Duty, Medium Duty, selected Heavy Duty, Minibus and Off-Road models for some time.
The Dandenong facility has been under-utilised since 2018 when the manufacture of the ACCO model changed over from using locally produced major components such as the cab, to a new model based on the imported European model of the IVECO Stralis.
In a statement, IVECO Trucks Australia said the decision to fully import its Heavy Duty range will allow the company to more closely align model year introduction timings with that of its parent company in Europe and IVECO is now expected to be launching the new S-WAY model in Australia according to the global launch plan following extensive testing and validation in Australian conditions.
As a new business unit intended to further leverage IVECO’s local engineering and manufacturing expertise, CIC will help transform the company’s focus towards the customisation and innovation of its vehicles for local markets and better assist IVECO customers and body-builders, particularly those with complex body types, to achieve a more streamlined design and body fitment process for their vehicles.
IVECO Australia and New Zealand Managing Director, Michael May said the decision to move to local customisation of fully imported vehicles was a natural progression of IVECO’s Australian and New Zealand transformation.
“Given our brand’s long history of manufacturing in Australia, this next step towards customisation strengthens our ability to remain agile and responsive to demanding regional requirements,” he said.
“This move will also ensure that we are in a position to offer the market the very latest in IVECO performance, comfort and safety innovation, in the most timely fashion, and at the same time, capitalise on our design and validation engineering expertise and customisation capabilities.”
Over the coming months IVECO will continue to engage with its employees who may be impacted by the announcement to cease local manufacture, and will provide appropriate support to the involved workforce.