Citroën vows to electrify all light commercial vehicles
Citroën announces that it will offer electric vans across its entire range of light commercial vehicles. A fully electric version of the Citroën Jumpy and Citroën Jumper will be launched in 2020 with the electric version of the new Berlingo to follow in 2021.
The e-mobility advance is in line with the mother company’s strategy. PSA recently confirmed plans to electrify the entire light commercial vehicle range and comparable passenger car models starting from 2020 and throughout 2025.
In the case of Citroën, this regards the electric versions of the Jumper and Jumpy vans first as these are due in early 2020. These will be available with two battery sizes (50 and 75 kWh) and are expected to achieve WLTP ranges of 200 and 300 kilometres respectively. The Jumpy is available in three sizes with a load capacity of 4.6 to 6.6 m³ and a weight capacity up to 1,400 kg.
By 2021, Citroën then wants to add the new Berlingo Electric van to the range, then coming with a bigger battery. The brand is thus working up to what it calls “a 100% electric offering” in the segment by 2025. The vans will be built in the Italian Val di Sangro and then electrified and homologated by PSA’s partner BD Auto reportedly.
However, neither Citroën nor PSA has mentioned pricing yet, but the brand speaks of “reduced cost of use” in the press release. For PSA, Xavier Peugeot, Senior Vice President of Light Commercial Vehicles at the Group only said “the range will help strengthen our leadership in this segment in Europe” and without the battery compromising on the vans’ features.
The electrification effort also regards the passenger car segment. PSA’s chief developer Gilles Le Borgne recently confirmed plans to launch the next generation of the Citroën C4 as a purely electric version by 2020 to compete with Volkswagen’s ID.3 model. The new C4 bases on the group’s electrified Common Modular Platform, the e-CMP, which supports small to medium-sized electric models.
It remains to be seen; however, what the planned merger of PSA with FCA would bring for the future of electrification. To date, both FCA and PSA are rolling out their new e-platforms and stopping one of these shortly after launch for the sake of synergies would be a disaster from a business point of view.
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