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Truckmaker Iveco Group said on Tuesday its engine unit FPT Industrial had signed an agreement with Blue Energy Motors, an Indian start-up developing clean energy trucks, to supply engines for liquefied natural gas (LNG) powered trucks.

FPT will supply 6.7-litre engines, Iveco said in a statement, adding Blue Energy Motors LNG tucks, which are expected to hit Indian roads by the end of this year, will be the first powered by such technology in the country.

It provided no financial details of the deal.

The Italian group will supply "several thousands of engines at start," one person close to the matter said.

Iveco, one of market leaders in liquefied and compressed natural gas technologies for commercial vehicles, said the deal was the first step in a potential long-term partnership to leverage the specific characteristics of India's commercial transport market, with about 3.5 million trucks on its roads and carbon emission standards becoming more stringent.

The engines will be initially produced at FPT Industrial's plant in Turin, Italy, which specialises in this type of medium-displacement engines, Iveco added.

Commenting on the agreement, the head of Iveco's Powertrain Business Unit Sylvain Blaise said the group wanted its "leading technologies to play a key role to support the ecological transition of one of the world's largest vehicle markets".