The story
Founded by Fiat S.p.A. in 1975, in Turin.1
Iveco (stylized in all caps as IVECO) was incorporated on 1 January 1975, with the merger of five different brands: Fiat Veicoli Industriali (with headquarters in Turin), OM (Brescia, Italy), Lancia Veicoli Speciali (Italy), Unic (France), and Magirus-Deutz (Germany).
Following the merger, the newly founded Iveco began rationalizing its product range, manufacturing plants, and sales network, while keeping the original brands. From 1975 to 1979, the Iveco range included 200 basic models and 600 versions spanning from 2.7 tons of GVW for light vehicles to over 40 tons for heavy vehicles, as well as buses and engines.
In 1977, the light- to medium-weight Iveco Zeta range was introduced, replacing the 20-year-old OM Lupetto. Integrating the Fiat-OM range with the Unic and Magirus lineups was completed by 1980. IVECO moved in to work on increasing productivity and engine development. In 1978, IVECO launched the first product in the range of IVECO-branded light vehicles, the Daily.
In 1980, Iveco built a turbo diesel engine for heavy industrial vehicles. In 1984, Iveco launched the TurboStar, a heavy on-road vehicle that became a best-seller in Italy and also successful in the European market, selling a total of 50,000 units in seven years. In 1985, Iveco made the first light diesel engine with direct injection.
From 1986, Iveco S.p.A. held a 52% stake in Iveco Ford Truck Ltd, a joint venture (and effectively a merger) with Ford of Europe's truck division. Ford plants took over production and sales of the major vehicles in the Iveco range and continued production of the Ford Cargo. In the mid-1980s, Astra Veicoli Industriali, which produces dumpers and construction site/quarry vehicles in Piacenza, became part of Iveco Group. In 1989, the first Diesel engine with EGR to reduce polluting emissions compatible with commercial vehicles was produced, and the new Daily launched that same year was fitted with it.
In 1990, the group purchased 60% control of Spanish industrial company ENASA, which owned the industrial vehicle builder Pegaso. In the 1990s, the EuroCargo, EuroTech, EuroTrakker, and EuroStar vehicles represented a total facelift for the range. The EuroCargo and the EuroTech were named "Truck of the Year" in 1992 and 1993, respectively, and for the first time, this recognition was awarded to the same manufacturer for two years in a row. English company Seddon Atkinson was purchased in 1991 and brought its long heritage of special vehicles for the construction and refuse-collection industries. That same year, the first TurboDaily assembly line was inaugurated at the Nanjing Motor Corporation in China. In 1991, Iveco announced it was withdrawing from the North American market at the end of the year; they had been selling the midrange Iveco Z/Euro there since 1978. In 1992, Iveco took over the primary constructor of industrial vehicles in Australia to form Ital, originally called International Trucks Australia. In 1996 firefighting activities in Germany were structured under the company Iveco Magirus Brandschutztechnik GmbH. The following year, these activities were boosted by the arrival of an Austrian company, Löhr, which then became Löhr Magirus. In 1998, the Cursor 8 was launched, followed the next year by the Cursor 10, the first diesel engine with a variable-geometry turbine and the first common-rail diesel engine for heavy industrial vehicles. The 125th anniversary of the presentation of the first Magirus ladder was celebrated together with the delivery of the 5000th Magirus aerial ladder produced since the Second World War. Magirus was sold to investment group Matares SE in 2024.
In 2000, it was renamed Iveco Trucks Australia Limited. In 2003, Iveco entirely bought out Irisbus, originally part of a joint venture with Renault. In 2004, the Iveco Motors brand was introduced, which became an umbrella for the production of engines; the following year, it was incorporated into the newly founded Fiat Powertrain Technologies. At the end of 2004, an agreement was reached between Iveco and the Chinese company SAIC Motor to form SAIC Iveco Hongyan.
On 1 January 2011, Fiat Industrial was formed, incorporating CNH, Iveco, and FPT Industrial. In September of the same year, the Fiat Industrial Village was inaugurated in Turin, a multipurpose centre belonging to Fiat Industrial and created for the sales, assistance, and product presentation for the Iveco, New Holland, and FPT Industrial brands.
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On 11 November 2021, Iveco published the prospectus in order to split from CNH Industrial which will be operated as a publicly separated company named Iveco Group N.V. After the completion of the demerger, on 1 January 2022 Iveco became a part of Iveco Group N.V., the parent company of the trucks and speciality vehicles, powertrain and related financial services businesses previously held by CNH Industrial. As of 2023, the company forms part of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices.
On 30 July 2025, Iveco announced the sale of its defence businesses, consisting of the IDV and Astra brands, to Leonardo. The remaining commercial vehicle business will be sold to Tata Motors. Both transactions are expected to complete in the first half of 2026.
From Wikipedia’s article on Iveco, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5