Renault Trucks D - Italy - Fratelli Iapichino SRL

The Fratelli Iapichino company uses a Renault Trucks D car carrier to transport new and used cars to all parts of Italy. A choice that is highly regarded by managers and drivers alike for the vehicle’s low fuel consumption, robustness and comfort.

What is your company’s business?

Enzo Iapichino — Fratelli Iapichino SRL is a family company, handed down from father to son. We transport cars almost exclusively and work with all brands. The financial crisis saw a certain increase in used car volumes, while new cars were somewhat neglected. But over the past two or three years, new car sales have been on the rise, as have registrations, and our business is growing again. In 2012, we began to expand our fleet with the acquisition of our first Renault Trucks vehicle, a Renault Premium 460. Since then, it has travelled 500,000 km, with 5 regular servicings, no repairs and a few litres of oil every 100,000 km... In other words, our Renault Premium costs us nothing in maintenance!

What are the constraints related to your activity?

E. I. — We serve all parts of Italy. Our vehicles therefore run on motorways and country roads, narrow and winding mountain roads – there are plenty of these in Italy – as well as in large towns and villages. Our vehicles must therefore be able to drive everywhere, be manoeuvrable and reliable. After our first positive experience with the Renault Premium, this year we decided to acquire a new Renault Trucks D. Like other hauliers, our biggest item of expenditure is fuel. My brother and I therefore check each truck’s consumption per kilometre. And we have found that the Renault Trucks D has an excellent average performance.

What is your opinion of the Renault Trucks D after operating it for several months?

E. I. — These first months confirm what we think of Renault Trucks vehicles in general and their customer service. The Renault Trucks D is really reliable.

Gear shifting is very quiet and very pleasant when you’re driving. The drivers even tell me: “Enzo, it’s like we have a bus in our hands!” Its robustness and manoeuvrability make it ideal for medium and long distances and also make it suitable for narrower and winding roads. Loading and unloading manoeuvres are straightforward, it adapts to all the situations we are likely to encounter during our missions. Apart from my own opinion, it’s our drivers who give us the most telling feedback on the qualities of the Renault Trucks D. We maintain a relationship of trust with our drivers.

And we want them to be happy with their vehicles because they are the ones who use them. They feel really at ease in the cab and the berth is very comfortable. The driving position is perfectly adapted to the job in hand. The Renault Trucks D behaves like a car. It is very stable on turns and never tends to lean to one side or the other.

How would you define your relationship with the Renault Trucks dealer?

E. I. — I am very satisfied with the relationship we have established over the past few months: the Renault Trucks representatives have always come to me, they are always pleasant, friendly and available. This is a dealer who provides his customers with a real follow-up. For example, he got in touch with us as soon as we received the vehicles to explain their characteristics, the new features and help us operate them under optimal conditions. Finally, the performance of the Renault Trucks range is mainly due to its reliability and low maintenance costs: there has been no need to carry out any repairs on them in recent years. And we are always amazed at the number of extra kilometres we can cover with a Renault Trucks D!