Fiat Professional’s new Ducato MY2020 will make its regional debut early in 2020.
According to Stephane Gigou, head of brand, Fiat Professional EME, the vehicle’s new features bring it in line with market demand and is the best Ducato yet.
“This is a year of celebration for us. It has been more than 120 years since the formation of Fiat and 38 years since the launch of the first Ducato. Compared to the other anniversaries it seems like yesterday,” he stated during the launch. “And, actually, Ducato seems to have found the formula for eternal youth. Reinventing itself continuously without losing the original concept. A concept that was revolutionary when it was first presented and has become mainstream after 38 years.”
According to Gigou, the Ducato accounts for one in every five van sales in Europe, a success he traces back to offering a, then-revolutionary, way of utilising a vehicle’s space.
“This was a concept we first introduced to the segment: a square and a regular van shape to allow full exploitation of the cargo space. A comprehensive body and a powerful range to all missions and uses,” he said.
The latest model of the Ducato was unveiled at a special press event in northern Italy in early July and Fiat Professional describes it as its best-ever version of the best-selling business vehicle.
The Ducato was the undisputed European market leader for the fifth year running in 2018 and is number one in terms of sales in 12 different countries.
The new Ducato MY2020 unveiled last week included the Euro 6D engines and a new ‘9Speed;’ automatic transmission.
“This is a latest-generation torque converter, capable of best exploiting all the engine’s torque points. It is the best transmission in its category in terms of weight, guaranteeing reliability and durability along with driving satisfaction at all times,” claims Fiat Professional.
A completely electric version, which implements Fiat Professional technologies and supplements the Ducato Natural Power methane-powered version in the alternative fuels offering, will also be available during 2020.
“The Ducato Electric is being developed through an innovative pilot project, together with major selected clients to offer more appropriate solutions with no trade-off in terms of load and performance, said Fiat Professional. Last but not least, there is no shortage of the most advanced ADAS driving assist devices and a latest-generation infotainment system.”
Gigou argues that in Europe, at least, the LCV segment is currently the one to be active in with sales increasing.
“The LCV market is a good place to be. After the drop of ten years ago (during the beginning of the global economic crisis) and excluding 2012, sales have been growing continuously and have recovered all the lost ground reaching 3.3 million units in 2018, the highest figure ever,” he says before focusing on Fiat Professional’s overall performance, “2018 was our best year in eight years.”
Gigou says that driving this growth is the changes to people’s lifestyles, “We have started shopping online and that has changed the economy forever and anything physical from groceries to TV set still have to be distributed physically.”
