Truck manufacturer Iveco has sealed a partnership deal with what3words which will see the tech company’s location technology integrated into the heavy-duty Iveco S-Way and Daily light commercial vehicle range by the end of 2024.
Iveco drivers will be able to navigate to any precise location – whether that’s a specific building entrance, loading bay, or unaddressed construction site – with just three words.
Text input will be enabled first. Voice entry, which is serviced by Driver Pal - the Iveco on-board vocal driver companion powered by Amazon Alexa technology - will be available from 2025.
Iveco said it chose what3words because its technology eliminates issues such as inaccurate postcodes, unaddressed construction sites, new buildings without addresses or precise loading bays, as well as the thousands of duplicate street addresses that exist – there are 34 Victoria Roads in London, and thousands of Hauptstraßes across Germany.
The what3words does this by dividing the world into a grid of 3m x 3m squares and given each square a unique combination of three words: a what3words address. For example, ///dine.normal.poem will take you to the exact entrance of the IVECO dealership in Birmingham.
It’s available in over 60 languages to date, including Italian, Spanish, English, French, German and Polish. The system is being built into in-vehicle navigation systems by automakers around the world.
By incorporating what3words, Iveco said it will enhance its routing accuracy, reduce delivery times, and simplify driver’s lives as well as contributing to a more efficient transport system.
Lorenzo Marangio, Iveco service solution chief said: “Developing state-of-the-art services for our vehicles is our true mission, as to provide our customers the mobility solutions that meet at best their needs.
“At IVECO our goal is to positively impact the TCO and the profitability of our customers’ business. We are constantly working to simplify our drivers and operators’ lives and the partnership with what3words represents an additional step forward in this direction.”
Co-founder and chief executive of what3words, Chris Sheldrick added: “Our partnership with Iveco marks a significant milestone in the evolution of location technology for transportation and commercial vehicles. By simplifying precise locations to just three words, what3words enables Iveco drivers to navigate anywhere with unparalleled accuracy.”
