Petrești Becomes Military Trucks Hub

IDV’s factory at Petrești, in Romania’s Dâmbovița county, has become a focal point for one of the country’s biggest military vehicle programs because it is where the company localized assembly for the Romanian army’s high-mobility truck fleet. The site was created after a December 2019 framework agreement with Romania’s Ministry of National Defence covering more than 2,900 trucks, and IDV said from the outset that the plant would assemble tactical and logistic military vehicles in Romania. In 2021, the company opened the new production line and said it was built specifically for the Romanian armed forces, with planned capacity of up to 440 vehicles a year. In March 2026, IDV said it had signed a third batch contract for 860 more trucks for Romania, extending the program again. ### Why does Petrești matter more than a normal factory town? Petrești matters because IDV chose it as the Romanian manufacturing base for a long-running army truck contract rather than shipping finished vehicles only from Italy. The company said at the August 2020 groundbreaking that it was establishing a manufacturing site in Petrești with Romanian partner Geo-Sting and described the location as a base for assembly, local partnerships and after-sales support. (idvgroup.com) Dâmbovița county officials and Romanian media have since described the plant as a wider defense-industrial anchor for the area. In June 2025, Economy Minister Bogdan Gruia Ivan said during a visit that the Petrești factory was producing more than 440 military vehicles a year and discussed plans to expand capacity, while county council president Corneliu Ștefan accompanied the visit. (idvgroup.com) ### What exactly is being built there for the Romanian army? The Romanian program covers high-mobility tactical and logistic trucks in multiple configurations for army use. IDV said the 2019 framework agreement spans more than 2,900 vehicles and includes 16 variants across 4x4, 6x6, 8x8 and 8x8 prime mover platforms, with some fitted with armored cabs. (dbonline.ro) The company has linked the Petrești line directly to those vehicles since the plant’s creation. At the 2020 ceremony, IDV said the Romanian site would assemble high-mobility tactical and logistic military vehicles for the armed forces, and at the April 2021 opening it said the new assembly line was ready to operate for the national armed forces. (idvgroup.com) ### How far along is Romania’s order book now? October 4, 2023 was the point when IDV announced a second tranche of 1,107 trucks under the same framework agreement. That order followed a first batch of 942 trucks whose delivery had started in 2020, the company said. (idvgroup.com) March 10, 2026 added a third batch of 860 tactical logistical trucks for the Romanian armed forces. IDV said that contract would take deliveries under the Romanian program beyond 2,900 trucks and described the work as part of its integration into Romania’s industrial ecosystem. (idvgroup.com) ### Who owns IDV now, and does that change the picture? Leonardo completed the acquisition of Iveco Group’s defence business, including IDV and Astra, on March 18, 2026 for 1.6 billion euros after contractual adjustments, the Italian defense group said. Leonardo said IDV Group had been reorganized under a single Italian holding company before the acquisition closed. (idvgroup.com) That means the Petrești operation now sits inside Leonardo’s land-defense portfolio. IDV’s own news pages now identify the company as “IDV, a Leonardo company,” including in announcements published after the transaction closed. ### Is this only about assembly, or is Romania trying to build a wider defense cluster around it? June 2025 reporting from Dâmbovița tied the truck plant to broader industrial ambitions in the county, including discussions of a strategic partnership with Hanwha Aerospace that local officials said could turn Petrești into a key site for 155 mm ammunition production. (leonardo.com) That reporting attributed the characterization to Economy Minister Bogdan Gruia Ivan during his visit. (idvgroup.com) IDV itself has been more measured in its public statements. In 2020, Alfonso Chiettini, then IDV vice president for operations, said the Petrești facility’s location would help develop partnerships with Romanian companies and strengthen after-sales support for the Romanian customer. (dbonline.ro) ### What comes next at Petrești? March 10, 2026 is the next hard milestone because that is the date of IDV’s latest announced Romanian truck contract, covering 860 additional vehicles for the armed forces. The continuing deliveries sit under the original 2019 framework with Romania’s Ministry of National Defence, and the Petrești plant remains the named Romanian production base tied to that program. (idvgroup.com) (idvgroup.com)