100 per cent gas-powered IVECO Stralis NP plays major role in London New Year’s Day Parade

Thursday 2nd January 2020

IVECO lent its support to Wandsworth Council for yesterday's London New Year's Day Parade (LNYDP) through the capital, helping to ensure the borough's sustainable float had the minimum environmental impact as it drove the route before a crowd of more than 500,000 people and a televised worldwide audience of millions.

A team from Wandsworth Council approached IVECO with a request to borrow a Stralis NP 460 to pull its float through central London - supporting its key objective for the next decade to become more sustainable and achieve carbon-neutral status by 2030.

Each element of the float had been carefully chosen to reflect the Mayor of Wandsworth, Councillor Jane Cooper's, passion for sustainability.

Commenting, she said: 'We wanted to make every effort to ensure our float was sustainable and only contained materials that had been recycled, reused or repurposed - from the centrepiece LOVE letters to the banners and the carpeted flooring. Being able to power it on 100 per cent natural gas made a massive contribution and provided a really positive start to our work in Wandsworth in 2020 to fight climate change.'

Gareth Lumsdaine, IVECO's Business Line Director Truck, explains: 'London's New Year's Day Parade was billed as the 'World's Greatest Street Spectacular' and it didn't disappoint. We were delighted to be asked to team up with Wandsworth Council - they recognised the Stralis NP as being the most sustainable heavy truck on the road today, and naturally, it proved to be the perfect fit with their theme for the event.

'It was a fantastic way to kick-off the new decade, and reinforced IVECO's position in the market as the ultimate partner for sustainable mobility.'

The centrepiece of the float was a selection of the 540 trees Wandsworth Council is planting across the borough during 2019/20, with the Deputy Mayor of Wandsworth on a park bench waving to the crowds.

Accompanying the float were representatives from local schools, charities and community groups, each wearing flower pledges made from recyclables as a sign of their support for building a greener future together. The float party were all dressed in recycled clothes and accessories donated by HIV & Aids charity, Wandsworth Oasis. Representatives from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home also walked with the float promoting the positive work they do in the borough.

Jonathan Price, Managing Director of Absolute Events, was tasked with driving the Stralis NP 460 for the parade. Speaking after the event, he said: 'It was a dream to drive; much quieter than diesel and more than capable of doing the job. An all-round success!'

The Stralis NP 460 is the most sustainable heavy truck for 44-tonne operation, standing apart from competitors for being the only three-axle tractor unit to operate on 100 per cent liquefied natural gas (LNG).

It brings together more than 20 years of development of natural gas technology - packaged into a 6×2 heavy truck which delivers a true competitive advantage for UK fleets on both regional and long-distance missions. It runs exclusively on LNG from tanks mounted on either side of the chassis and is perfect for applications where vehicles operate on a 'same-day out and back' operation.

Power comes from a 12.9 litre IVECO Cursor 13 NP single-fuel engine, offering the perfect blend of power and performance for the majority of UK-based applications. It also features IVECO's 12-speed Hi-Tronix automated transmission, plus key innovations including GPS-based Hi-Cruise predictive cruise control and gear-shifting.

The Stralis NP maximises the environmental advantages of natural gas, regarded as the most eco-friendly fuel for internal combustion engines. It delivers a 99 per cent reduction of PM and 90 per cent in NO2 compared to Euro VI limits, helping to significantly improve air quality. It also offers fleets the potential to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 95 per cent when running on liquefied bio-methane.

Designed to be extremely quiet in operation, IVECO's Cursor 13 NP engine records less than 71 dB on the PIEK quiet truck test, adding to the vehicle's sustainability credentials.