While electrification does not reach the largest, Iveco is betting on the gas truck market in Brazil and should start production in the first half of next year
Due to the delay in electrification in the road sector, Ricardo Barion, commercial director of Iveco in the country, says that a pre-series with 20 units of the gas-powered truck will begin to be produced in the country in February of next year. The assembly of the gas trucks will take place at the company's unit in Sete Lagoas (MG). The executive informs that the units are starting to be evaluated in several operations. In this way, the tests will take place with the fuel in its various forms, that is, Natural Vehicular Gas (CNG), or also gas in liquid form (LNG) and Biogas, which is produced from animal or vegetable compounds.
Read also
Iveco says it will not import vehicles and gas trucks will be produced in Brazil
Barion did not mention the names of the carriers that will participate in the tests with the gas trucks, but he added that the vehicles will run in real situations and with the most diverse types of weight and installations, as well as on multiple routes and under the most diverse conditions.
According to the Iveco director, at this stage the company plans to evaluate the behavior of each gas-powered truck under the conditions of use in Brazil, bearing in mind that they were produced in the national territory.
- Honda launches the cheapest motorcycle in Brazil, which hits the market for less than R$10, covering 206 km on a single tank and promises to sell like hotcakes
- A dramatic drop in U.S. electric car prices is turning the market into a shopper's paradise, but putting dealers in a tight spot
- In the R$20 range, Chevrolet delights demanding drivers with a popular, reliable and inexpensive car to maintain
- Iveco Group company announces investment of R$127 million in Brazil until 2028 to develop new biofuel-powered engines
No line was imported from Europe, as the company invests in local development. According to Barion, the brand debuts the gas-powered truck in Brazil with heavy models, not least because the technology requires greater investments compared to the combustion truck, while electrification does not reach the sector. Therefore, in the heavy segment it pays for itself more quickly, even more so when compared to the urban vehicle.
Iveco does not rule out the idea of producing a truck powered by semi-heavy gas
The company executive also does not rule out the possibility of, at another time, expanding the family. Like the semi-heavy Gas Tector, for example. The model is already produced and sold in Argentina. However, Barion sees a big opportunity in the evolution of gas use in the country.
First, because the number of companies concerned with sustainable policies in operations is growing and also, because from a cost point of view, it becomes a more affordable option. Barion points out that electrification in the road sector is not yet in the near future in Brazil.
Manlog will produce biogas
The transport company Manlog, from the Movah Group, should be one of the companies that will test trucks powered by gas from Iveco, while electrification does not arrive. According to Thiago Suzin, the company's CEO, the carrier is already planning with Iveco on the subject.
Furthermore, by the end of the first half of next year, the group should start producing its own biogas. This is because the company will enter the agricultural sector. In this way, it wants to contemplate a cleaner system in this sector.