Australia – January 29, 2023 - As the country lives through a time where the weather can be it's most unpredictable and devastating, 115 IVECO Eurocargo Euro5 andEuro6 specially fitted with Allison 3000 Series™ transmissions will soon be in service at the country’s high-risk fire areas.

IVECO has been on a mission to optimise its Eurocargo ML150 4x4 trucks to establish the best gear configuration for emergency service workers fighting fires on steep angles of up to 35 percent.

The vehicles were tested with an automated manual transmission (AMT) and a fully automatic transmission from Allison Transmission –the world’s largest manufacturer of commercial vehicle transmissions. The comparison looked at ways to reduce the speed of the vehicle in a controlled descent to minimize human intervention. The fully automatic Allison was able to be customized with input and output functions of the transmission control module(TCM), with a combination of exhaust brake, lock up, and retarder adjustments optimizing support for drivers.

“For the trials, we starting with an Allison3000 Series™ in IVECO’s Eurocargo ML150 Euro5and together with our local channel partner, the transmission was reworked locally to perform similarly to a 3500 by altering the calibration. A physical gear ratio change from close to wide ratio provided a deeper first gear, further optimizing the vehicle’s performance and meeting the request of better driver control,” said Allison Transmission Australia & New Zealand Sales Manager, Robert Cavagnino.

“Importantly, the vehicle allowed those drivers to creep smoothly down very steep descents and feel fully supported by the gearing and braking systems while staying focused on the job. It’s about drivers of varying experience levels feeling confident in their vehicles.

”Following the success of the pilot model, a further 90 vehicles have been reworked locally to perform similarly to a 3500, and IVECO’s Eurocargo Euro6 now comes with the factory option(Europe)of the Allison 3500 transmission with Power Take-Off (PTO) and Retarder as the ideal 4x4 application. A further 25 have already been ordered directly from the factory based on demand.

“The move from an AMT to a fully-automatic Allison transmission at the end of 2019 was the right one for this model,” said Emiliano Foieri, IVECO Product Manager. “The feedback from multiple fire agencies is that adding the Allison fully automatic 3500 transmissions has provided confidence to drivers with limited truck driving experience, who’ll now get into a larger 15-tonne vehicle and confidently control it in some fairly challenging environments.”

“Considering these vehicles need to be in service for a minimum of 20 years, we wanted a configuration suitable to volunteers –some of which haven’t been born yet. I truly believe that with this truck and fully automatic transmission we’ve achieved that,” said Foieri. “Our work with the Allison Transmission team to get the specification right was seamless, and this configuration has now become a standard inclusion for off-road emergency vehicles in IVECO’s ML150 4X4 range following consistently positive feedback from emergency service agencies around Australia and New Zealand.”

“Allison Transmission is honored to partner with IVECO to provide the nation’s emergency services with a greater sense of control over the large vehicles they’re operating–often in highly stressful circumstances,” said Cavagnino.

“By instilling more confidence in the emergency service personnel on challenging terrain, we make their whole job easier. A lot of people who work for fire services are volunteers, and a fully automatic transmission protects from misuse of the drivetrain –giving greater service life of these important fire ground assets protecting the community in stressful times.”

For more information on the benefits of the Allison 3500 transmission and how it can optimize the performance of fleets fit for emergency service vehicles and more, visit allisontransmission.com.

About Allison Transmission
Allison Transmission (NYSE: ALSN) is a leading designer and manufacturer of propulsion solutions for commercial and defense vehicles and the largest global manufacturer of medium- and heavy-duty fully automatic transmissions hat Improve the Way the World Works. Allison products are used in a wide variety of applications, including on-highway trucks (distribution, refuse, construction, fire and emergency), buses (school, transit and coach), motorhomes, off-highway vehicles and equipment (energy, mining and construction applications) and defense vehicles (tactical wheeled and tracked). Founded in 1915, the company is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. With a presence in more than 150 countries, Allison has regional headquarters in the Netherlands, China and Brazil, manufacturing facilities in the USA, Hungary and India, as well as global engineering resources, including electrification engineering centers in Indianapolis, Indiana, Auburn Hills, Michigan and London in the United Kingdom. Allison also has approximately 1,600 independent distributor and dealer locations worldwide. For more information, visit allisontransmission.com.