4th Interactive Session: Dario Salvati

8th IRU TransEuro Road Transport Conference 19-20 May 2005, Tallinn-Estonia

In partnership with

One year after EU Enlargement:
New challenges, new opportunities

4^th Interactive Session

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Dario Salvati, IVECO, Sales & Marketing Director, Italy

Mr. Dario Salvati, Iveco Global Marketing Director


FIRST PART, 10 minutes

Transport Industry's Legislation Concerns

• Impact of manufacturers on the legislative process

• The introduction of the Euro 4&5 standards

Iveco welcomes the recent initiative launched by the European Commission in Brussels called CARS 21 and consider it as a good opportunity to create a Competitive Automotive Regulatory System for the 21st century.

• Since 1970 a type approval regulatory framework has been established leading progressively to the whole vehicle type approval which has allowed to achieve a single market.

• The extension of the European whole vehicle type approval system to commercial vehicles is currently under discussion in the European Parliament and in the Council and we hope that it will be approved as soon as possible.

• In developing more than 60 type approval separate Directives, the EU has addressed not only road safety related issues but also environmental matters. Today Europe has probably the most advanced legislation in the world.

• However, during the past few years the type approval legislation has been supplemented by a growing number of other legislative issues which are not linked to type approval itself.

• Examples are recycling (End of life vehicles), chemical policy (the so called REACH project) and many others.

• This kind of horizontal legislation has often been developed by Commission bodies other than DG ENTR and adopted by Council of Ministers other than the Competitiveness Council.

• Although the need of this horizontal legislation outside type approval should properly be assessed, we would like to focus on its non-uniform implementation by Member States.

• Generally, we think that EU should refrain from adopting technical legislation outside the type approval framework and at the same time consistency of type approval legislations should be improved. In this respect we suggest that:

  1. Regulatory proposals are prioritised and timetabled in a strategic way. Large numbers of regulations are implemented within a short space of time, leaving no lead time for industry to properly schedule technical solutions and investment; In this respect the establishment of a policy and regulatory road map for the next ten years is fully supported.

  2. The stakeholders should be more involved at an early stage in the preparation of proposals relevant to industrial policy. This, with the aim of avoiding cumulative effects of regulations taking into account possible cross-impact (and sometimes contradictions) between different regulations affecting the automotive industry.

  3. All type approval related legislation should be adopted taking into account competitiveness of the European transport industry.

  4. A proper integrated impact assessment methodology should be developed with regard to major legislative issues. It is important that this methodology is shared among the different stakeholders.

  5. EU legislation should be simplified by strengthening the links between the European regulatory system and the United Nations 1958 Agreement framework; The recent Commission orientation to progressively replacing part of EU type approval legislation with the corresponding UN Regulations is strongly supported. Global harmonisation of motor vehicle regulations and certification procedures should be promoted through UNECE, World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29).

• The introduction of Euro 4 and Euro 5 standards is a fundamental step forward to a clean transport system.

• In the last 10 years the emissions legislation for truck diesel engine was representing one of the main drivers of technological evolution: by the use of high pressure injection systems and sophisticated turbocharching solutions, together with and extensive electronic engine management, we were able not just to fulfil the environmental target, but also to maintain an excellent economy in operations.

• In the meantime Iveco has made a big effort to renew the complete engine range, and dispose today of a very modern, proven and competitive engines ready for the next steps.

• Euro 4 and 5 represent nevertheless a big challenge and for the first time the use of after-treatment systems and not just engine internal improvements will be needed. Furthermore, Euro 4 and 5 will introduce an On-board diagnostic system, durability requirements and in-use compliance schemes.

• A modern, highly efficient diesel engine operates at very high combustion temperature and pressure, and this is leading to an optimum fuel consumption and to very low particulate (soot) emissions; higher temperature however produces a relatively high NOx emission.

• Two main roads are possible to reduce NOx:

  1. to complement a fuel economy and particulate optimised engine with a NOx after-treatment like S.C.R. (Selective Catalytic Reduction); with this system an additional reductant fluid is needed, but is possible to overcome the NOx vs Fuel Economy-PM trade off and to reach an outstanding operating cost.

  2. to use E.G.R. (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) to lower combustion temperature and reduce the engine out NOx, but in this case, to be in the particulate limits with enough safety margin, a PM reduction arfter-treatment is needed; with EGR the NOx reduction efficiency is any way limited (the quantity of exhaust gas that is recirculated is limited by the necessity to maintain the combustion efficiency and consequently fuel economy at a good level)

• To comply with Euro 4 and Euro 5 standards Iveco has adopted different strategies for medium/heavy duty trucks and light commercial vehicles:

  • medium/heavy trucks:
    SCR will be used for all medium and heavy range on road and off road (Eurocargo, Stralis, Eurotrakker)

  • light commercial vehicles:
    EGR will be used for the whole Daily range; in addition an oxidation catalyst will be adopted for lighter applications and a particulate trap (CRT) for the heavier ones

• The main reasons for the Iveco choice of SCR for the Medium and Heavy Trucks were as follows and they were driven by our goal to give our customers the best technology solution with the best economic and environmental performances:

  1. fuel economy from 3% to 6% better than today Euro 3 and alternative technologies

  2. no effect on the service and oil change intervals

  3. no impact on engine reliability/durability

  4. enabling to maintain or increase power/torque density

  5. maintenance free system designed for the entire life of the vehicle

  6. fully demonstrated Euro 5 capability

• We will start to sell Euro 4 and Euro 5 vehicles since next September, well ahead of the legislation requirements.

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