IVECO partners with what3words to revolutionise navigation
what3words has today announced its partnership with IVECO, which is the brand of Iveco Group N.V. (EXM: IVG) that designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of light, medium and heavy commercial vehicles, off-road trucks and vehicles suitable for any body type. The innovative location technology will be 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. The partnership feeds into IVECO’s strategy to drive the change in the transportation industry, as it embraces a transformation journey grounded in a multi-energy approach, empowering innovation and consolidation of a partner ecosystem. Text input will be enabled first, and voice entry, serviced by Driver Pal, the IVECO on-board vocal driver companion powered by Amazon Alexa technology, will be available from 2025.
Street addresses can cause havoc for navigation systems, especially if entered by voice. They are often inaccurate, with postal codes covering large areas, making it difficult for drivers trying to navigate to locations such as unaddressed construction sites, new buildings without addresses or precise loading bays. In addition to this, thousands of duplicate street addresses also exist – there are 34 Victoria Roads in London, and thousands of Hauptstraßes across Germany.
what3words eliminates these issues, enhancing the navigation experience for drivers across the globe. It has divided 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 will enhance its routing accuracy, reduce delivery times, and simplify their driver’s lives. what3words addresses offer a user-friendly and easily communicable way to pinpoint locations, making it especially valuable in areas with confusing addressing or remote locations. This integration has the potential to contribute to a more efficient and reliable transportation network.
Lorenzo Marangio, Head of IVECO Service Solution: “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 CEO of what3words, Chris Sheldrick adds: “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.”
what3words’ technology has been adopted by global car companies including Lamborghini, Jaguar, Land Rover, Subaru, Mahindra, VinFast, Lotus, Lynk & Co and Mitsubishi and now – with IVECO. The what3words app is free to download for both iOS and Android and accessible via the online map at what3words.com