PSA Peugeot Citroën and Toyota Motor Europe has recently unveiled the new Citroën Spacetourer, Peugeot Traveller, and Toyota Proace. They will be available in MPV versions for private use and in shuttle versions for business use. Both companies therefore confirm the continuation of their co-operation agreement signed in 2012.
The three vehicles will be launched in the first half of 2016 and will be present on the respective stands of the three brands at the Geneva Motor Show in March next year.
“We are delighted to present today these three new vehicles, the result of the co-operation with Toyota Motor Europe. This agreement has enabled us to develop a new and efficient vehicle platform, offering our customers around the world modern products which are particularly competitive in their segment,” said Patrice Lucas, PSA Peugeot Citroën Head of Programme and Strategy.
“We’re very pleased that the collaboration we started in 2012 with PSA Peugeot Citroën is now delivering a brand new generation Toyota Proace,” said TME President and CEO Johan van Zyl. “Both teams worked very hard together and at individual brand level and I am confident that our distinctive new van with all its variants will strengthen the Toyota light commercial vehicle offer in Europe. The new Proace will complement the range of solid and durable vehicles customers are expecting from Toyota.”
Since 2013, the first Toyota Proace vehicles were based on the current generation Peugeot Expert and Citroën Dispatch vehicles. It was agreed at the start of the collaboration in 2012 that the companies would work together on next generation vehicles and that the collaboration would last beyond 2020.
The aim of the collaboration is for both companies to be able to offer a competitive product in the mid-size, light commercial vehicle, shuttle and Combi segments and benefit from development and production cost optimisation. The vehicles are produced at PSA Peugeot Citroën’s plant of Sevelnord, in Valenciennes, France.
Although technical specifications have yet to be announced, each vehicles share all technical features, powertrains and equipment, leaving only the parts you can see changing from one brand’s version to the next. Expect engines to range from 1.5 to 2.0 liters and burning petrol or diesel, but the latter will very likely prove the more popular option in Europe.
