Iveco Defence Vehicles (DV), the specialty vehicles business of CNH Industrial (NYSE: CNHI /MI: CNHI), has signed a delivery order with the Swiss Armed Forces, represented by armasuisse (Federal Office for Defence Procurement), for 400 trucks to be supplied between 2017 and 2021. The agreement was signed at the powertrain R&D center belonging to Iveco Defence Vehicles’ CNH Industrial sister brand FPT Industrial in Arbon, Switzerland on May 2, 2017.
This initial delivery order forms part of a frame contract for a new fleet consisting of special trucks to be delivered from 2016 through to 2022. The frame contract was awarded to Iveco DV in November 2015, following two years of thorough market evaluation and comprehensive practical trials with several demonstrator chassis.
This is the third frame contract between the two parties, following previous agreements in 1996 and 2006. It confirms a long established and trusted cooperation between Iveco DV and the Swiss Armed Forces, enhancing the brand’s position as a key industry supplier.
“The awarding of this contract is yet another important milestone in our nearly 30-year collaboration,” commented Martin Sonderegger, National Armaments Director.
“Projecting and producing tailor-made vehicles adapted to the specific needs of our customers is always an interesting challenge for us,” explains Vincenzo Giannelli, President & CEO of Iveco Defence Vehicles. “This latest frame contract bid provided us with an excellent opportunity to improve innovation and research for a new generation of trucks.”
As with previous contracts, vehicle drive configurations will comprise a range of variants, including 4×2, 4×4, 6×2, 6×6, 8×6 and 8×8 vehicles from the new Stralis and Trakker ranges, which will be supplied with a range of different equipment, some with protected cabins. The high level of technology fitted in the vehicles, together with the extended use of civil COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) components are fundamental to ensuring the required safety and operability of the fleet. All vehicles will be fully-compliant with Euro 6 emissions regulations and fit for Single-Fuel-Operation.
Iveco DV will provide ongoing support, project management and engineering services to the Swiss Armed Forces in close partnership with Iveco Switzerland.
The new fleet of vehicles joins the current EEV-truck-generation, which Iveco DV has delivered to the Swiss Armed Forces over the past five years. These consist of 1,200 heavy trucks, over 1,000 of which have successfully served in operation in the last three years, a result that is in-line with the program planning.
