Iveco's new medium-duty Eurocargo has been chosen by European commercial vehicle journalists as International Truck of the Year 2016.

The win was announced at a gala dinner this week at Solutrans, the biennial trade fair for haulage and urban transport professionals currently being held in Lyon, France.

The truck, designed for the medium product segment, was chosen by a jury of 25 panellists representing the leading commercial vehicle magazines from across Europe. The award honors the vehicle launched in the previous 12 months that has made the greatest contribution to road transport efficiency based on criteria that included technical innovation, comfort, safety, driveability, fuel economy, environmental footprint and total cost of ownership.

Iveco’s new medium-duty truck fought off a strong challenge posed by Renault Trucks’ C&K range, which finished in second place, while Ford Trucks’ new construction series was third.

"Iveco has delivered a new medium duty truck that once again raises the bar in a highly competitive segment in which the Eurocargo has set the market benchmark in for the last 25 years," said Gianenrico Griffini, chairman of the International Truck of the Year jury.

The New Eurocargo cab design, which continues the family feeling of the Iveco Daily van, features city-friendly contours with horizontal lines that underline its main focus on multi-drop distribution missions in urban environments.

The interior is a multi-functional mobile office, with its central console pre-configured to integrate with smartphones, tablets and GPS-based navigation systems, as well as advanced telematics solutions. The latter are managed by the Drivelinc central touchscreen display, which offers a user-friendly interface for messaging, fleet management and driving-style support measures.

The Eurocargo also boasts eco gear-changing strategies in its two-pedal Astronic automated box, plus an eco-roll function that encourages fuel-saving "coasting." And with its Natural Power CNG version Eurocargo, Iveco has delivered a viable response to the future challenge of ever-tighter restrictions on diesel-engine trucks in major European cities.

The International Truck of the Year journalists (who all had the chance to drive the new Eurocargo some months ago) praised the advanced features of its driveline, including its SCR-only 4 or 6-cylinder engines that offer improved driveability and fuel savings as well as lower CO2 emissions.

This is the fourth successive award for CNH Industrial's commercial vehicles and bus business. It follows the International Truck of the Year 2013 title won by the Iveco Stralis, the International Van of the Year 2015 award for the Iveco Daily, and the International Coach of the Year 2016 title for the Magelys from Iveco Bus.

"We are very proud of this recognition for our new Eurocargo. It is the latest generation of a vehicle that has been leading in the European medium segment for years," said Pierre Lahutte, Iveco brand president, upon accepting the award.