Iveco’s Vision concept van wins major European green award

IVECO’S Vision concept van – centrepiece of the Iveco stand at this year’s Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham – has won a major European green award.

It won the European Transport Prize for Sustainability 2016 distribution vehicles category for its efforts to provide sustainable innovations in the transport sector.

Alessandro Bernardini, innovation director truck and bus at Iveco’s parent CNH Industrial, accepted the award from the German ‘Transport’ magazine for the best and most integrated sustainable system at a ceremony in Munich.

At the heart of Iveco’s Vision concept van lies a sophisticated dual energy system which has been developed by Iveco to further minimise environmental impact.

The dual energy system gets its name from its ability to self-adapt to the most suitable traction mode – one is exclusively electric, ensuring zero tailpipe emissions and low noise levels for inner city areas, and the other is hybrid (thermoelectric) and suitable for longer journeys and extra-urban missions, reducing consumption and CO₂ emissions by up to 25 per cent compared with diesel-only equivalents.

Other unique features include ‘see-through’ front pillars which guarantee unrestricted driver visibility, plus a state-of-the-art rear-view camera displaying on a panoramic screen above the windscreen. There is also adaptive LED lighting, a photovoltaic roof which uses sunlight to generate battery power, and advanced GPS tracking.

The Vision can also automatically adjust its tyre pressures, according to the weight of the load it’s carrying, to deliver optimum road-holding and fuel-efficiency.

Designed with delivery drivers in mind, Vision uses a fully automatic system for load management based on a series of sensors which identify the goods being loaded and then indicate the correct positioning of these within the loadspace, triggering air-bag style containment devices which prevent the movement of larger packages.

As well as protecting valuable goods from damage, this improved space management makes loading and unloading faster, leading to obvious efficiency gains for the operator. The driver manages the full suite of on-board technology via a high-integration touchscreen device, which communicates seamlessly with the on-board electronics.

Although the Vision is a prototype, much of its technology is already close to production. The vehicle acts as a travelling sensor, sending information to the driver, the fleet manager, the surrounding infrastructure and other vehicles to maximise efficiency.

The Vision is one example of how CNH Industrial is working to provide sustainable solutions for the different sectors in which its brands operate.

The Dow Jones Sustainability World and Europe Indices have named the company as their Capital Goods Industry Group Leader for five consecutive years now.