- by Brian Byrne
Fiat, PSA, extend LCV development agreement
27 January 2003: Fiat and Citroën have signed an agreement which renews joint development and manufacturing of new light commercial vehicles (LCVs).
The two companies have been successfully co-operating in the development and production of LCV's since 1978, and have now decided to extend their co-operation to 2017.
The agreement details future product concepts and industrialisation plan for two complete LCV ranges, and also establishes economic and industrial objectives.
The two products, whose launch is scheduled in 2006, will be manufactured at Sevel plant in Val di Sangro (South of Italy), and at Sevel facility in Valenciennes (France) respectively. In the former the replacements for the current Fiat Ducato, Peugeot Boxer, and Citroen Jumper will be manufactured, while the latter will host the production of the current Fiat Scudo, Peugeot Expert, Citroen Jumpy.
The two companies plan to invest a total of around E1.7 billion of which more than 1 billion will be allocated to the project which will be launched in the Italian plant in Val di Sangro, whose annual production level is planned to be some 260,000 units. It is forecast that approximately 130,000 units per year are to be produced at the Valenciennes facility
Since the beginning of co-operation more than 2.5 million of Ducato, Boxer, and Jumper vehicles have been manufactured at the Val di Sangro plant and about 600,000 Scudo, Expert, and Jumpy vehicles have been constructed in Valenciennes.
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