L 292/58 Official Journal of the European Communities 9.11.2001 COMMISSION DECISION of 6 June 2001 on State aid which Italy is planning to implement for Iveco SpA (notified under document number C(2001) 1545) (Only the Italian text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (2001/780/EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular the first subparagraph of Article 88(2) thereof, Having regard to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, and in particular Article 62(1)(a) thereof, Having called on interested parties to submit their comments pursuant to the provisions cited above ('), Whereas: I. PROCEDURE By letter dated 2 November 1999, registered as received on 10 November 1999, Italy notified a plan to grant R & D aid to Iveco for a project carried out between 1994 and 1999. Following a preliminary analysis, the Commission registered the case as notified aid N 670/ 1999. On 7 January 2000 it asked for further details. After Italy requested an extension of the deadline for its reply, a meeting was held on 29 February 2000. After a further extension of the deadline, Italy sent additional information by letters dated 31 March, 8 May and 18 May 2000. By letter dated 4 August 2000, the Commission informed Italy that it had decided to initiate the proce- dure in Article 88(2) of the EC Treaty in respect of the proposed aid measures and invited it to submit any comments it might have and to provide the information required to assess the compatibility of the aid with the common market. After requesting an extension of the deadline for the reply by letter dated 16 August 2000, Italy sent the Commission the information required by the latter in order to complete its examination of the case by letter () O] C 27, 27.1.2001, p. 25. dated 24 October 2000 and registered as received on 30 October 2000. The Commission decision to initiate the procedure was published in the Official Journal of the European Communi- ties (}). The Commission invited interested parties to submit their comments on the aid. No comments were received. II. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE AID The planned aid would be granted to Iveco SpA, a subsidiary of the Fiat group. Iveco designs, manufactures and sells mainly light commercial vehicles, lorries, buses and diesel engines under the trade marks Iveco, Astra, Iveco-Ford Truck, Iveco Magirus and Iveco Pegaso. In 1999 Iveco employed 36 000 workers, and sold 149 900 vehicles and 405 000 engines. It achieved a turnover of EUR 7,4 billion and an operating income of EUR 311 million. The aid is for research and development activities under an approved scheme provided for by Law No 46/1982, which aims to provide an incentive for the development of production processes and products presenting a significant technological innovation. The Law also provides for a retroactive period of 24 months from the date on which the application was made. The project was carried out in the period 1994 to 1999 and Iveco applied for aid in 1996. The notified project concerns the renewal and expansion of Iveco's range of light vehicles in the 2,8 t to 6,5 t range, with a loading capacity of between 7 m® and 17 m® The goal was to develop a completely new ‘vehicle system’ for the Iveco S 2000 range that would introduce substantial innovations into the product and the production process. (® See footnote 1.