A delay in Leonardo’s acquisition of Iveco Group’s defense subsidiary is holding up Rheinmetall’s plan to acquire the firm’s military truck operations, according to Reuters.
Leonardo recently signed a binding agreement to purchase Iveco Defence Vehicles and the ASTRA military truck division in a €1.7 billion ($1.9 billion) deal. First announced in 2025, the transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026, pending regulatory approvals and the completion of asset separation.
Rheinmetall plans to acquire Iveco’s military truck business once Leonardo’s deal is finalized. Although the company had anticipated beginning the handover by the end of March, negotiations are on hold until Leonardo formally completes its purchase.
Iveco’s defense portfolio includes logistics and tactical vehicles such as Eurocargo and Modular Military Range trucks in four-, six-, eight-, and ten-wheel configurations, as well as heavy-duty ASTRA chassis designed for specialized military applications.
The divestment forms part of a larger restructuring that also involves the proposed €3.8-billion ($4.3-billion) sale of Iveco’s civilian automotive division to Tata Motors.
Iveco continues to fulfill ongoing programs, including the delivery of 860 tactical trucks to the Romanian Armed Forces as part of a 2,900-vehicle initiative launched in 2019. The company also has a separate contract to supply 658 trucks to the Italian Army, bringing total deliveries under a 2024 framework to more than 2,000 vehicles, with production scheduled through 2039.
