Iveco: 7-tonne Daily is our "greatest weapon"

Iveco has said that its 7- and 7.2-tonne Daily is “one of the greatest weapons in [its] armoury” as sales of the heavyweight van variant matched those of the 7.5-tonne Eurocargo in 2016.

Speaking at its UK headquarters in Basildon, Essex, Iveco MD Stuart Webster said that “as the first and only 7- and 7.2-tonne semi-forward control product on the market, it is opening up a completely new market sector all on its lonesome”.

The manufacturer registered 1,133 Dailys in the weight category last year although the SMMT is yet to publish full data for 2016 (full registration figures for 2016 are expected in mid-February) as to how many lightweight rigids were registered across the whole of the year.

Webster said: “We now sell almost as many Dailys at this weight as Eurocargo 7.5-tonne trucks, and that is a huge indicator of the way the market in lighter weight trucks is moving.

“The lighter truck sector is moving increasingly towards this type of product for bigger load volumes within the smallest on-road footprint,” he explained.

In recognition of this, he said, Iveco is adding the 7-tonne Daily to its Driveaway programme (7.5-tonne Eurocargos are already available through Driveaway – which is a scheme that makes ready-built product available to the market at short notice).

“Availability is key these days - and Driveaway was put together to respond to the short-term needs of operators in today’s world,” Webster said.