Iveco is Leaving the Defense Industry

Iveco Group has sold its defense division specializing in the production of protected armored vehicles to the Italian corporation Leonardo.

The statement was published on the company’s website.

The Italian automotive giant has announced the signing of a definitive agreement to sell its defense division, known as Iveco Defense Vehicles and ASTRA. Their value was estimated at EUR 1.7 billion.

Leonardo Corporation became the new owner of the production facilities for wheeled armored vehicles and army trucks. The acquisition is expected to make it a new European leader in the field of land armaments with opportunities for global competition.

The transaction is expected to close no later than March 31, 2026, subject to customary regulatory approvals and the completion of the asset spin-off.

Iveco Defense Vehicles is primarily known for the production of tactical armored vehicles of the LMV light and MTV medium family, as well as VBA wheeled amphibious armored personnel carriers. The latter, in particular, were made in close cooperation with the new owner.

In addition, IDV also produced the Eurocargo Military 4×4 and Trakker Military (4×4, 6×6, 8×8) lines of militarized trucks, which, in addition to logistics tasks, also serve as a platform for radars, command posts, etc.

ASTRA also produces trucks of four lines with different payloads: HD6, HD7, HD8, HD9, and ACTL, which are used as chassis for specialized vehicles in the army.

Iveco’s defense division cannot be considered unprofitable, as it has received several large contracts for trucks in recent years. In particular, the Italian government ordered 1500 trucks, and the Romanian government ordered about 1000 more units.

IDV continues to supply Iveco MTV armored vehicles to the Dutch army under old contracts, as well as Military Utility Vehicle special-purpose vehicles to Austria.

It is also worth mentioning the supply of German launchers from the IRIS-T SLS anti-aircraft system on the Eurocargo 4×4 chassis, which were seen in service with the Ukrainian military.

The consortium of the Iveco defense division and Oto Melara also continues to supply heavy armored vehicles to the Italian army, including VBM armored personnel carriers and Centauro combat vehicles.