A five hundred truck order, destination Iran. It’s going to be a nice Christmas for Iveco and Fiat Industrial (both Fiat Chrysler group companies), according to documents obtained by Linkiesta. Between Teheran and the company led by Ceo Sergio Marchionne, commercial relationships have accelerated in the last few weeks. Between Eurocargo and Trakker trucks, Iveco is working at full speed to fulfill orders it has received. All this while the international diplomacy is trying to avoid an escalation of the Iran’s situation. Speculations about Iran building an atomic weapon have been building up.
Sanctions have been strengthened against Iran as of last week, but have not have an impact of Fiat’s business yet. Anyhow, because of tensions regarding Iran, it is possible that a new round of sanctions will be adopted in the next few weeks. Meanwhile tension between Israel and Iran is building up. What is certain is that Fiat Chrysler group is asking for the order to be fulfilled as soon as possible. According to an official from the company, who asked to remain anonymous, Fiat wants all the trucks to be built and shipped from Villanova logistic plant before december 20th.
The total number of trucks delivered from Fiat to Iran should be of 516 vehicles, 324 are Iveco Trakker, the biggest truck in size built by the company, 192 are Iveco Eurocargo, a medium size truck that can be bought and assembled in different configurations. These are product lines that have a big reach in North Africa and Middle East, where demand has risen after the Arab Spring. Libya, Morocco and Iran all placed big orders. Nothing to worry about from a commercial point of view, being the Iranian market one of the most developed of the entire area. From a strategic point of view, maybe there should have been more questions asked, especially considering the selling method.
Iveco doesn’t sell the full product, but a building kit. Containers being sent to Iran come in a Knock down setting (Ckd). Clients receive the industrial product, ready to be assembled. Containers with destination Morocco, Libya and Iran have this kind of setting, whose transportation is easier, if there is an assembly line at destination point. A different kind of shipment would be a Complete build-up unit (Cbu), which is a complete product shipment. A third model is used for shipments delivered in South America, which are comprised of single units and not assembly kits. Ckd delivery method is more convenient both for Teheran and for Fiat, because who is at the receiving end has more chances to personalize his product. And this is the way chosen for Teheran. Already last year the Wall Street Journal unveiled a similar sale to the Iranian regime, a news that upset many policy makers in Washington.