italiaspeed.com

Fiat Group's ambitious plans to launch its Iveco brand in the United States have been postponed for the moment according to the truck division's CEO Paolo Monferino as it pursues other more promising global opportunities. Group CEO Sergio Marchionne had said earlier this year that a final decision on whether to go ahead would be taken on the plans by the end of the first quarter.

The U.S. option is on stand-by," Reuters reported Monferino as telling reporters during the unveiling of the Eurocargo truck in Turin yesterday. "We have not yet taken a decision on the United States because there are a series of initiatives around the world that could offer other opportunities and we can't open so many fronts at the same time," he added. The current financial situation and impending economic recession have played a part in the postponement of the decision as launching a new brand during an economic downturn is always going to be a tall order.

Marchionne has talked much over the past year about launching the Iveco division into the United States. Iveco already has a strong global reach but has no exposure to the huge US truck market. He has suggested either an acquisition could be made, with Illinois-based Navistar International often having being at the centre of rumours, or that the Group's US-based agricultural and construction equipment division, CNH Global, also headquartered in Illinois, could be used as a springboard to provide a manufacturing and distribution backbone for the launch. "A decision will be made this year," added Monferino yesterday.

One of the other opportunities that Iveco is expect to pursue this year is the rapidly growing Chinese market; and production capacity there is targeted to reach 150,000 units annually within three years said Monferino, up from last year's total of 94,000 units. Iveco's manufacturing operations in China are managed through two joint ventures with SAIC Motor Corp.