Fiat, PSA Peugeot Citroen to build compact van in Turkey

Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat, Christian Streiff, CEO of PSA Peugeot Citroen,  Mustafa V. Koc, Chairman of Koc Holding and of Tofas and Ali Pandir, CEO of Tofas, inaugurated the production line for a new entry level light commercial vehicle (LCV) at the Tofas plant in Bursa, Turkey.

The new LCVs represent a new addition to the small panel van segment, with optimal loading height and large side-hinged rear doors and sliding side doors that make the loading bay easily accessible.

Standard equipment includes power steering for driving comfort, as well as ABS and a driver airbag for enhanced safety. Many other options usually found in higher-priced segments are also available, including parking sensors, a separate cab locking system and

additional storage space.

Proven gasoline and diesel engines, both fuel efficient and environmentally friendly, contribute to lower running costs.

Marketed as the Fiat Fiorino, the Citroen Nemo and the Peugeot Bipper the new vehicles will be gradually introduced as from the end of 2007.

Bringing the new lineup to market required a total investment of €380 mln, of which €190 mln 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 Koc.

With these new small panel vans, Fiat and PSA Peugeot Citroen have extended their long-standing cooperation while substantially expanding their light commercial vehicle  portfolios. The launch comes just a few months after the partners revitalised their jointly developed line-ups of large vans (Fiat Ducato, Citroen Jumper/ Relay, Peugeot Boxer) and compact vans (Fiat Scudo, Citroen Jumpy/ Dispatch, Peugeot Expert).