A new winner for SA!

Iveco has brought (one of) its Truck of the Year winners to South Africa – the all-new Eurocargo!

Iveco will be opening up the full versatility of the all-new Eurocargo range to the South African market by supplying a staggering
11 000 variants to its customers. It will even be introducing a new tipper model.

“We will meet any technical requirement for the heavy commercial vehicle market,” says Elvis Mutseura, product marketing manager at Iveco South Africa.

“We will carry rolling stock of the MLC140E22, MLC160E24, MLC180E28 and the new MLC180E24K tipper model. We will also continue to serve our customers who have shown a strong and lasting preference for our 4×4 offerings in the MLC150E24WS,” says Mutseura.

“Our South African ‘standard’ Eurocargo offerings are optimised for the most common distribution tasks where, for instance, we optimally carry 7,5 t on a seven-metre tautliner and up to 8,5 t on an 8,5-metre-long tautliner. Considering that a trailer of up to 15 t can also be towed, then one is looking at a very efficient and effective way of distributing goods for the proverbial last mile.

“The MLC180E24K will carry 7,5 t in a six-cube tipper body legally and comfortably on the road (and nine tonnes on site as per our rating) and will give contractors a real option for smaller construction sites,” he explains.

Iveco has made major improvements to the Eurocargo range in terms of fuel efficiency, comfort and durability.

Mutseura says: “We have optimised our wheelbase offerings across the range and can boast industry-leading productivity that results from the outstanding fuel efficiency, as well as from class-leading payload and towing capacities.

“We are looking forward to putting the new Eurocargo into independent tests so that our claims can be proved
and verified,” he adds.

For the South African market, the new Eurocargo will be available with high- and low-roof day-cab options and wheelbases ranging from 3 105 to 6 570 mm. The local models will also be adapted to suit local conditions, with the fitment of upgrades such as a steel front bumper and additional fuel filtration. Iveco South Africa will be importing the new Eurocargo range fully built up.

Powering the new range will be the 5,8-litre Tector engine which produces between 164 and 208 kW (220 and 280 hp) of power and 680 to 930 Nm torque. These engines will be emission rated at either Euro 3 or Euro 5.

Drive will be through ZF six- or nine-speed manual gearboxes (which allow a gross combination mass of
32 500 kg), or through a six-speed ZF automated-manual or Allison fully automatic transmisson.

While the Eurocargo in Europe boasts Iveco’s innovative HI-SCR Euro-6 emission-reduction technology, South African fuel and legislation limitations mean that this technology will not be fitted to local models. However, versions running on compressed natural gas (CNG) may make the cut.

Its fuel efficiency, comfort and durability may be some of the reasons that the new Eurocargo was named the Truck of the Year, but by suppling South African customers with over 11 000 variants, Iveco hopes to prove that the Eurocargo can exceed their expectations.