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Hot on the heels of a host of sub-120g/km CO2 new cars being announced, are now starting production of new compact vans that will emit just 119g/km of CO2 in diesel-equipped versions. Petrol engines will also be available.
Marketed as the Fiat Fiorino, the Citroën Nemo and the Peugeot Bipper, the interestingly-named new vehicles will be gradually introduced as from the end of 2007.
Fiat and PSA Peugeot Citroën already work together on vans, and this new model expands their light commercial vehicle portfolios. The launch comes just a few months after the partners revised their jointly developed line-ups of large vans (Fiat Ducato, Citroën Relay, Peugeot Boxer) and compact vans (Fiat Scudo, Citroën Dispatch, Peugeot Expert).
The new vans are all about being compact in size, economical, and having low running costs. Measuring 3.86 metres in length, they have a load volume of 2.4 cubic metres. A stowable passenger seat enables capacity to be increased to 2.8 cubic metres for a loading space length of 2.5 metres. Large side-hinged rear doors and sliding side doors make the loading bay easily accessible.
Standard equipment includes power steering, ABS and a driver airbag. Options are available such as parking sensors, a separate cab locking system and additional storage space.
Bringing the new line-up to market required a total investment of ₏380 million, of which ₏190 million was for research and development. The vans are manufactured by Tofas at its plant in Bursa, Turkey, which has an installed capacity of 158,000 vehicles a year. Turkey’s leading automobile manufacturer, Tofas is equally owned by Fiat and Koç.
