New ties knot
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• One dealer network will sell Ford and Iveco trucks in Britain after the companies' UK truck activities are merged later this year.
The two companies this week confirmed, as has been expected for months, that their British truck activities are to be merged into a jointly owned company, Iveco Ford Truck Ltd, from July.
Each will hold a 48 per cent stake in the company, the remaining four per cent being owned by an as yet unnamed merchant bank. Ford's truck plant at Langley, Buckinghamshire, will be owned by the new company, and the 1,700 employees there will be taken over on their existing terms and conditions of employment.
The new company's chairman is to be an Italian, Iveco's product planning director Felice Cantarocco. Ford's British truck operations director, Peter Nevitt, becomes vicechairman and director of industrial operations.
Other posts will be filled by selected individuals from Ford and Iveco management. Ironically, Iveco UK managing director Alan Fox and sales and marketing director David Gill are both ex-Ford men.
Over the next three months, the two dealer networks will be streamlined and combined into a new, joint unified network selling Ford and Iveco trucks over four tonnes. Ford has 121 dealers, Iveco 40. The joint company will choose those dealers it wants to retain and will discuss compensation terms with the others.
The deal has one anomaly. The long-wheelbase version of the new Ford Transit — only now available — is to be sold by Iveco Ford dealers. The long-wheelbase version of the old Transit was sold through truck dealers.
This means that lveco Daily models under four tonnes will cease to be available through the Iveco Ford dealers once existing stocks are exhausted.
Ford will build the long wheelbase Transit on behalf of Iveco Ford, while Iveco Ford in turn will build export Cargo trucks for Ford, which retains sole responsibility for sales outside the UK. Ford's plants at Dagenham, Swansea and Leamington will continue to supply engines, gearboxes and other components used in the Cargo, although the deal does not rule out the future possibility of Iveco supplying some componentry later or of British parts like cabs being fitted to European Iveco models.
The new company has the right to continue to use the Ford name indefinitely, but there is an option for Iveco to acquire full ownership at a later date.
0 News extra, p18