IVECO BUS, the urban, intercity and tourism bus brand of Iveco Group N.V. (MI: IVG), inaugurated today its new Foggia plant dedicated to the production of zero- and low-emission buses, in front of public authorities, trade union representatives, customers, suppliers and partners.
Adolfo Urso, Minister for Business and Made in Italy, and Michele Emiliano, President of the Puglia Region, attended the event. Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, Minister of the Environment and Energy Security, sent a video message.
According to the industrial plan, at full speed the new facility will employ 100 highly specialised people working lines equipped with the most advanced Industry 4.0 technologies. The production volume of the plant will be 1,000 vehicles per year: high-tech buses with zero-emission propulsion (battery electric and hydrogen electric) and low-emission propulsion (methane/biomethane, traditional fuels and biofuels).
The plant emits zero net CO2 emissions. 100% of its energy comes from renewable sources, including over 1,000 photovoltaic panels that produce 640 MWh per year. The entire project focuses on reducing energy consumption and recycling, making use of high-performance construction materials, Intelligent LED lighting and rainwater reuse.
Iveco Group is already present in Foggia with its FPT Industrial plant for the production of industrial engines and 1,600 employees, which make this one the largest industrial establishments in Puglia. The investment in the new plant of approximately 40 million euros – that will be partially offset by funds from the PNRR, the National Recovery and Resilience Plan ‒ is strategic and puts two pillars of the PNRR into practice: “Green revolution and ecological transition” and “Infrastructure for sustainable mobility”.
The inauguration of the new plant comes just eight months after the first stone was laid and less than a year after IVECO BUS announced its intention to return to producing buses in Italy. Through this “Sustainable Enhancement of the Italian Bus Supply Chain” project, IVECO BUS is contributing to the energy and ecological transition process for public transport in Italy, ensuring as well as the acquisition of new technologies for the country. In addition to Foggia, the project involves other Iveco Group sites and Italian suppliers: the Research and Development activity related to zero-emission propulsions and battery production is being conducted at the Turin site of FPT Industrial ‒ the Group’s powertrain technology brand ‒ and the completion of the bus production that will take place in the new Foggia plant will utilise components (from seats to information technology systems) provided by the Italian supply chain.
Gerrit Marx, CEO, Iveco Group, said: “The new IVECO BUS plant in Foggia represents an important investment for Iveco Group, which is fully in line with our strategy to maintain and strengthen our presence in Italy at centres of excellence like our historic engine plant in Foggia. It is therefore with pride and pleasure that today we concretely mark the return of our bus production to Italy. In this way, we will provide the Italian public transport sector with our most technologically advanced and environmentally sustainable vehicles”.