Over 600 Iveco trucks, for the army, will be manufactured in Romania

By Edwig Ban
The Bucharest authorities recently signed a contract of over 216 million euros for 942 IVECO trucks needed for the Romanian Army. It is the first contract from a broader agreement providing for the delivery of over 2,900 military trucks and platforms. “Starting with the 301th truck, they will be manufactured in Romania”, based on an 80% offset, says the Minister of National Defense, Nicolae Ciuca.
Iveco will deliver over the next four years 942 military trucks and wheeled transport platforms in various configurations according to a contract signed on the last day of last year. The contract with a value of over 216 million euros (excluding VAT) is the first contract from a larger agreement providing for the delivery of over 2,900 military trucks and platforms concluded with Iveco.
“From the supplier’s commitment elements I can mention that, starting with the 301th truck, they will be produced in Romania. Where exactly – is the decision of the supplier together with the responsible structure of the Ministry of Economy, namely the Office for Clearing of Special Techniques Acquisitions, and this is going to materialize in a decision, we hope, as soon as possible. It is not about our hope, but it is about the obligation in the contract because, once again, the 301 auto means must be integrated in Romania ”, says the Defense Minister.
Ciucă also states that “based on the offset contract, 80% of the value of the contract without VAT must be returned to the national economy”.
According to a statement released in January by Iveco Defense Vehicles, the subsequent contract signed with the MApN provides for four types of military vehicles from the Iveco High Mobility range – 4×4, 6×6, 8×8 and 8×8 Prime Mover – which in turn will be divided into 16 different variants , with a third having an armored cabin.
The company also recalls that the Romanian Army also purchased 57 military trucks from Iveco in 2015 and another 173 military trucks in 2017.
The present contract is part of a framework agreement signed with Iveco following a mega-tender launched by the MApN in July 2018.