Iveco has more than tripled its UK truck sales in the last few years, making it the manufacturer’s fasted-growing market.
“Between 2017 and 2019 we were selling circa 1,500 trucks at 7.5 tonnes and above per annum, whereas now we are looking at a broad run rate of 5,000 trucks,” said Gareth Lumsdaine, business line director of truck. “Over the last couple of years, we have delivered a period of rapid growth.”
Lumsdaine explained that this growth gave the factory the confidence to increase the production of right-hand-drive trucks, giving the UK a disproportionately large amount of the factory’s production capacity. As a result, Iveco has been able to bring down its average UK lead times from a high of 18 months to just 6 months. “Our 2023 books are full, and we are just starting to take orders for January 2024,” he added.
While Iveco tractor units are selling in record numbers, Lumsdaine says its achievements in some other sectors are weaker.
“We took a deep dive into our performance, and looked at the areas where we weren’t getting the sales that the product deserves,” he told us. “And one of those was the 8-wheeler tipper market.”
He explained that an obvious solution to grow market share is to increase availability. So, having persuaded the factory to commit a significant number of build slots for X-WAY 8x4 chassis, Iveco then partnered with bodybuilder Thompsons, to produce a ready-to-go tipper (pictured). At the same time, it has worked with its dealers to appoint and train rigid specialists at some branches.
The first batch of these tippers are rolling out of Thompsons now, and Iveco is planning a large off-road customer event in September. “We have an excellent product, and if we can get people into it, we know it sells,” said Lumsdaine.
