Chrysler 2009 Annual Report Download - page 106

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In September, Iveco presented a prototype of the Daily Electric in Brazil. The project was the result of a
partnership between Iveco and Itaipu Binacional, the company that manages the largest hydro-electric power
plant in the world on the border between Brazil and Paraguay. The prototype is the first zero-emission light
commercial vehicle produced in Latin America.
Also in September, Iveco unveiled the Magelys HDH, the latest addition to the Iveco Irisbus Gran Turismo
range. This innovative and comfortable triple-axle bus is the real jewel in the crown of the fleet.
In October, Iveco presented the new medium Vertis (in the 9-13 tonnes segment) at Fenatran 2009 in São
Paolo, Brazil. This vehicle was developed at the Design Centre in Sete Lagoas, Brazil and produced using
around 80% locally-manufactured components.
Turning to awards, the Daily CNG was named “Green Van of the Year 2009” by a prestigious UK trade journal
and Iveco won the “Transport Innovation of the Year” award for Blue&Me Fleet, an advanced telematic fleet
management system. The Daily was also named “Green Commercial of the Year 2009” at the Irish Fleet
Transport Awards.
In November, the Italy-China Foundation and the newspaper Milano Finanza conferred the prestigious “Top
Investor in China” award on Iveco, an award that recognises companies that have taken advantage of opportunities
created through Italian-Chinese relations. In China, the new heavy segment Genlyon, the result of the partnership
between Iveco and SAIC, was named “Truck of the Year” in the fleet class by China Auto News.
In December, Iveco was conferred the “Truck of the Year” award, for the third year running, by the prestigious
Brazilian trade journal Autodata for its medium segment Tector. Autodata also awarded Iveco the “Business
Management” prize for its expansion strategy for the Iveco brand in South America.
Iveco won the title of best importer in the transport sector in Germany.
Lastly, the Iveco Off-Road website won “Best in Class” in the automotive category at the Interactive Media
Awards in New York, one of the most coveted awards given for demonstrating the highest standards of
innovation in website design.
SERVICES
For 2009, performance in the Customer Services area was heavily influenced by a decline in after-sales activity,
which had already shown signs of a slowdown in the latter part of 2008. During the year, spare parts inventories
were scaled back by dealers to adjust to reduced business volumes, with no significant recovery in average
mileage expected in the near term. The situation affected all markets, but was particularly extreme in Spain, the
UK and Eastern Europe.
The availability of spare parts was impacted by difficulties in procurement as suppliers reduced production in
response to the economic downturn. Iveco’s integrated virtual warehouse did however guarantee sufficient
availability of critical spare parts.
Work continued on the implementation of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology, which will improve
logistics tracking and guarantee that customers receive spare parts made by Iveco.
In November, the VOR Parts programme became fully operational. This programme forms part of an integrated
process to reduce downtime, providing a faster response when critical parts are required.