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Peugeot , Citro’n and Fiat have issued the following press release:
Jean-Martin Folz, Chief Executive Officer of PSA Peugeot Citro’n and Sergio Marchionne, Chief Executive Officer of Fiat, unveiled today a new family of compact light commercial vehicles at the Sevel Nord plant in Northern France.
To be launched in mid-January 2007, the newcomers succeed the Peugeot Expert, Citro’n Jumpy (Dispatch on some markets) and Fiat Scudo, and keep their respective names. — new Fiat Fiorino.
These new compact light commercial vehicles are available in a broad range of body styles with volumes of 5 to 7m3 and payloads of 1,000 and 1,200 kg allowing business users to select the right vehicle for their specific business needs.
In addition, the two groups are extending their ranges with a new passenger vehicle offering, the combi-van, a large van-based MPV seating up to nine passengers.
The new vehicles for both groups are produced in Valenciennes, Northern France, at the Sevel Nord plant, with a workforce of nearly 4,400 employees and producing up to 130,000 units a year in 3 shifts. — New Citroën C5.
The Sevel Nord site which is operationally managed by PSA Peugeot Citro’n also assembles the Peugeot, Citro’n, Fiat and Lancia brands top-of-the-range MPVs.
To manufacture these diverse ranges of vehicles priority action was given to modernising the workshops, redesigning logistics and improving workstation ergonomics. The Sevel Nord plant assembles as many as 14 different body styles on a single line: the top of the range MPVs, the new compact light commercial vehicles and the combi-vans. Industrial investment for the production of these new compact light commercial vehicles and combi-vans totals ’440 million.
Nearly one million units of the previous generation of Peugeot Expert, Citro’n Dispatch and Fiat Scudo models, launched in 1995, have so far been produced at the Sevel Nord plant. These light commercial vehicles helped trigger the boom in the compact light commercial vehicle segment in Europe with their novel car-like driveability, an offering not previously available on light commercial vehicles. — Fiat 500 Car of the Year 2008.
Following the renewal of their larger light commercial vehicle ranges: the Citro’n Relay, Peugeot Boxer and Fiat Ducato, in May 2006, the two groups are continuing to rejuvenate their light commercial vehicle ranges.
The next step in this market offensive will occur in 2008 with the launch of a small new van manufactured in Turkey under Tofas management.
