Tag Archives: Citroen

Citroen Berlingo L2 electric van

Peugeot & Citroën stretch range with longer wheelbase electric van

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The Peugeot Partner and Citroën Berlingo electric vans (the same vehicle) have been around for a while now. But so far they’ve only been available in the shorter L1 wheelbase offered by the firm’s on its diesel models.

The companies say that in response to customer demand, the Berlingo/Partner electric van will now be available in a choice of L1 and L2 wheelbases. Choosing the L2 option will enable van operators to extend available load length from 1,800mm to 2,050mm and load volume from 3.3 cubic metres to 3.7 cubic metres.

Citroen Berlingo L2 electric van

The Citroen Berlingo electric van in L2 (long) wheelbase.

The battery packs are fitted beneath the floor in this model, meaning that loadspace is the same as in the diesel models.

Faster charging

Both models will also benefit from being supplied with a 16A charging cable as standard. This enables the vans to be hooked up to fast charging points for more rapid recharging.

The 22.5kWh litihium-ion battery backs fitted to these models provide a range of up to 106 miles. They can be charged to 80% of capacity in 30 minutes from a dedicated rapid charge point.

Citroen Berlingo electric van under bonnet

Under the bonnet of the Citroen Berlingo electric van.

The Partner/Berlingo is eligible for the Plug in Van Grant (PiVG) from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV). Prices for both vans start from £22,180 +VAT. All vans are exempt from road tax and will continue to be so under new tax VED rules from April 2017.

A new Berlingo Electric L2 550 LX will be displayed on the Citroën stand at the CV Show in April. I’m heading to the show so I’ll try and get a photo.

New 2016 Peugeot Expert

All-new Peugeot Dispatch and Citroën Expert unveiled

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The new Peugeot Dispatch and Citroën Expert vans will make their global debut at the CV Show 2016 in Birmingham, on 26 April.

New 2016 Peugeot Expert

Both firms are part of France’s PSA Group and the two vans will be very similar to each other. The new Dispatch and Expert vans will be based on PSA’s EMP2 platform, which is also used for the Peugeot 3008 and Citroën C4 cars.

Toyota has also opted to use the Dispatch/Expert as the basis for the new Toyota Proace, which will be unveiled as part of Toyota’s comeback appearance at the CV Show.

The new Dispatch/Expert van will be available in three lengths, ranging from 4.6m to 5.3m. Maximum payload will be 1,400kg, while a roof height of 1.9m, should mean that most height-restricted car parks are accessible.

New 2016 Citroen Dispatch interior

In addition to the standard panel van model, crew van and minibus models will be available. All The standard van will continue to have three seats in the front, while maximum seating capacity for the Combi (minibus) model will be nine people.  There will also be a platform cab model, opening the door to a wide range of potential bodywork conversions.

Diesel engines will all be Euro 6 and will offer a choice of power options from 95hp up to 180hp. Manual and automatic gearboxes will be available. A number of new safety and convenience features will be on offer, including hands-free sliding doors and Active Safety Brake, which is an automatic emergency braking system designed to prevent rear-end collisions.

The MPV version of this van has already achieved a 5-star score in the Euro NCAP safety tests, so this model should continue to raise the safety bar for vans, improving occupant and pedestrian safety.

Citroen Relay Plant & Go plant carrier

Citroën will debut new Berlingo and Relay models at CV Show 2016 (pics)

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Citroën has announced a number of updates and additions to its popular Berlingo and Relay Ready To Run ranges. The new models will be on show at this year’s CV Show, which is expected to be well attended.

Here’s a summary of the latest additions.

Relay ‘Ready To Run’

The Relay-based range of off-the-shelf conversions have proved popular with Citroën customers. The firm has now added three new models to the range:

  • A new ‘Plant & Go’ small plant carrier
  • A new car transporter
  • Two new Crew Vans

Plant Carrier & Car Transporter

The Plant & Go small plant carriers and the car transporter will both be converted for Citroën by KFS Special Vehicles. Both have been designed to offer class-leading payloads and to provide cost-effective solutions to what are often seen as expensive requirements.

Citroen Relay Plant & Go plant carrier

The Citroen Relay Plant & Go small plant carrier can carry one large or two small pieces of plant.

The Plant & Go carrier has been specifically designed to eliminate the need for a trailer. As well as cutting costs, this also simplifies driver licensing requirements. Younger drivers no longer have full trailer entitlement as standard, meaning an additional B+E test is needed before they can tow.

The Plant & Go carrier takes advantage of the low chassis height available with the front-wheel drive Relay and the load area has a floor height just 530mm from the ground. Removable lightweight alloy sideboards double up as loading ramps and help the vehicle achieve an impressive 1,860kg payload.

The new Relay car transporter is aimed at vehicle logisitics and dealer stock movements.

Citroen Relay Car Transporter

A payload of 1,760kg is enough for the vast majority of cars. The transporter’s 3.5t rating means that operating costs will be low and drivers won’t need any additional licensing.

Crew van conversions

The two new crew van conversions are being produced by CoTrim for Citroën and are available in L1H1 and L3H2 configurations — short and long wheelbase with low or mid-height roofs.

Citroen Relay Crew Van

They provide comfortable seating for a driver and five passengers plus load space. The short wheelbase model provides 1,500mm of load floor length, while the longer L3 model has a load length of 2,535mm. Additional space under the rear seats is available subject to height restrictions.

The Crew Vans’ rear seats have been designed and tested to comply with EU Whole Vehicle Type Approval standards. The integrated, moulded bulkhead has been tested to ISO 27956 for load restraint protection.

The Relay Ready to Run Enterprise L1H1 is competitively priced at £20,450 + VAT, while the larger L3H2 is available at £26,250 + VAT.

Berlingo update

Citroën’s small van remains a popular choice with SME customers and enjoyed a sector market share of 19% last year, making it the most popular van in its class.

The Berlingo range has been refreshed for 2016. The updated models will make their debut at the CV Show and will be available from May onwards.

2016 Citroen Berlingo

From May 2016, all Citroen Berlingo vans will have Euro 6 engines.

Here’s a summary of the changes:

  • An all-Euro 6 engine lineup, including a new BlueHDi 75 engine
  • Two new, stand-alone Berlingo Enterprise models
  • A new, high-value Berlingo Enterprise option pack

The switch to Euro 6 is no surprise. From September, it will be a legal requirement. However, the engines sound promising and it’s good to see Citroën is continuing to provide a petrol model. The new engine range will comprise:

  • VTi 95 PS petrol engine
  • BlueHDi 75, 100 and 120 PS diesel engines

The firm will also launch two new Berlingo Enterprise model vans at the CV Show.

These new, range-topping Berlingo Enterprise models are based on the newly launched BlueHDi 75 manual L1 625 van and the BlueHDi 100 S&S manual L1 850 van.  Additional equipment fitted to these stand-alone Berlingo Enterprise vans includes:

  • Air conditioning
  • Touchscreen audio pack
  • Anti-theft alarm
  • Rear parking sensors
  • Connecting Box (Bluetooth®/USB port)

In addition, Citroën is introducing a Berlingo Enterprise Pack, which available as an option for just £800 + VAT on any Berlingo LX van. The Berlingo Enterprise Pack includes the same equipment as above.

New Citroën Berlingo & Peugeot Partner to make UK debut at CV Show 2015

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Citroen Berlingo 2015

New 2015 Citroen Berlingo will make UK debut at CV Show 2015

The new Citroën Berlingo and Peugeot Partner small vans will make their UK debuts at the CV Show 2015, which takes place at the Birmingham NEC from 14-16 April.

While the styling and specification of both vans have been tweaked, the big change is that both models will now be available with Euro 6 engines.

Euro 6 is the latest European standard for emissions control and is particularly relevant for diesel engines at it includes much tougher legislation on nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions.

These are responsible for respiratory and other health problems in urban areas, and while NOx levels should have fallen under Euro 5, it was found that the technology used for Euro 5 didn’t work very effectively in urban environments*. As a result, NOx levels didn’t fall by as much as expected following the widespread adoption of Euro 5.

Naturally, emissions control technology is getting more complex, as Citroën explains:

BlueHDi (Euro 6) powered New Berlingo models have an efficient, three-stage SCR process to treat emissions caused by combustion:

– Stage 1: an oxidisation catalyst converts the unburned hydrocarbons (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO) in the exhaust into water and carbon dioxide (CO2)

– Stage 2: the SCR module then adds AdBlue to convert nitrogen oxide (NOx) into nitrogen (N) and water

– Stage 3: a particulate filter then eliminates 99.9% of particles in the vehicle’s exhaust emissions

BlueHDi powered New Berlingo vans have a 17-litre AdBlue tank, which will last for up to 14,000 miles, depending on the type of vehicle operation.

The Peugeot Partner is of course essentially the same van, and will have a near-identical range of engines. Both firms will wisely also offer a 1.6-litre petrol engine, which should win favour with low mileage urban operators and perhaps off-road users, such as airports, where speeds and distances are very low and do not allow a modern diesel to warm up and operate efficiently.

Peugeot will also continue to offer the Partner Van Electric, an all-electric model, while there will be a new Berlingo Electric Van (presumably using the same electric drivetrain).

What else is new?

I’ve written about both new vans previously (Berlingo & Partner), so I won’t repeat everything here, but to summarise, the main enhancements to each model are technological and safety related: Active City Brake, Hill Start Assist, tyre pressure sensors, cruise control and front and rear parking sensors and camera are all available as options, while the 2/3-seat cab seating format will continue to be available.

Payloads for the updated vans range from 625kg to 850kg, while inside a 7-inch touchscreen media system will also be available for the first time.

*https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/environment/ultra-low-emission-zone/user_uploads/ulez-supplementary-information—final-291014.pdf

Small van, big grip: Citroën Nemo now available with Grip Control

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Citroën Nemo

The Citroën Nemo is now available with a Grip Control pack

Modern traction control systems mean that old-school mechanical diff locks and four-wheel drive systems are only really necessary on serious off road vehicles.

Drivers looking for a little more grip on slippery surfaces and soft-road conditions, such as unsurfaced tracks, can choose to have a little extra electronic wizardry injected into their vehicles, instead.

The principle is simple: regular traction control systems work by cutting power and/or braking individual wheels when they sense that one or more wheels has lost traction — is skidding or spinning.

By extending this principle, traction control can be used to simulate the effect of a mechanical differential lock (a device that forces both wheels on an axle to rotate at the same speed). That’s the principle behind Grip Control, a system that’s available as an option on a number of Peugeot and Citroën vehicles.

Citroën announced today that a Grip Control option pack will now be available on its Nemo van.

The Citroën Nemo Grip Control pack will cost £630 +VAT and will include:

 

  • Intelligent Traction Control
  • Raised suspension
  • 185/65 R15 tyres
  • Under engine protection tray
  • Front & rear mud flaps
  • Door sill protection & deeper side rubbing strips
  • Washable cab floor covering

The resulting van should be suitable for light off-road use — and if fitted with winter or all-season tyres, should be awesome in snow and ice conditions.

 

Citroën polishes off competition with Morelli order

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Morelli Group Citroën vansHot on the heels of Citroën’s dominating performance in the Business Van awards last week comes news of a new fleet renewal and expansion deal for the firm.

Automotive refinishing products specialist, the Morelli Group, has taken delivery of 15 new Citroën Dispatch L2H1 HDi 125 6-speed manual Enterprise vans.

The new vehicles have been ordered to meet growing demand and to replace older vans being de-fleeted, and the Enfield-based firm will base the new vans at depots throughout the UK.

The majority of the Morelli Group fleet are DS and Citroën models, totalling 48 Citroën vans and 27 cars, and Robert Cohen, the group’s financial director, says that this isn’t a coincidence:

“We like the way Citroën offers its vans with defined trim levels, rather than a large number of options, which makes ordering vehicles easier. Citroën’s LCVs are ideal for our intensive, high-mileage operation, providing excellent driver comfort and safety, along with reliability and low cost of operation.”

The 1200kg payload Dispatch L2H1 Enterprise models are powered by an HDi 125 engine, which has excellent combined cycle fuel economy of 44.1mpg and low CO2 emissions of just 168g/km. Standard specification includes air conditioning, rear parking sensors, a Connecting Box (including Bluetooth® hands free and a USB socket), electrically folding heated door mirrors and a full steel bulkhead. In addition, the Dispatch also comes with Teletrac intelligent satellite navigation and Trackstar stolen vehicle tracking.

Citroën tweaks Berlingo to deliver fuel efficiency boost

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The 2014 Citroën BerlingoCitroën has announced that subtle modifications to the Berlingo will increase the popular small van’s fuel efficiency, with the changes taking place from November production onwards.

According to the French firm, the November changes will see the HDi 75 powered Berlingo vans’ combined cycle fuel consumption figure improve to 56.5mpg (previously 55.4mpg) and CO2 emissions reduced to 131g/km from 133g/km.

Similarly, the Berlingo LX e-HDi 90 manual micro-hybrid sees its CO2 emissions reduced to 120g/km from 125g/km and its combined cycle fuel consumption figure improve to 61.4mpg (previously 58.9mpg).

The Berlingo is Citroën’s best-selling van, and the firm is clearly keen to stay on top of the competition. Jeremy Smith, Citroën’s Head of Commercial Vehicles & Business Sector Operations, commented:

“These latest changes will help to maintain the Berlingo’s strong sales performance. In the first three quarters of this year, the Berlingo showed a year-on-year sales growth of 14% to 12,283. We expect that this popular model will deliver one of its best-ever sales results in 2014, reflecting its strong appeal to businesses both large and small.”

The Berlingo range includes a wide range of models and a full choice of drivetrain technologies — full-electric, petrol, diesel and diesel micro-hybrid (perhaps Chivas should have looked outside the Vauxhall stable, which is far more limited).

Berlingos are available with a factory built choice of L1 and L2 panel vans, 5-seat crew vans, enhanced traction vans and platform cabs for special bodywork. The Berlingo panel van is also the only model in its sector to be supplied as standard with Teletrac satellite navigation and Trackstar stolen vehicle tracking.

Citroën earns green awards for LCV range

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Citroën Relay 35 L3H2 (l) and L1H1 (r)

Citroën has been awarded the GreenFleet LCV Manufacturer of the Year Award in recognition of the environmental credentials of its LCV range.

The largest van in Citroën’s range is the recently-updated Relay, for which fuel economy figures have improved by up to 15% – with combined cycle fuel economy in the 37.7-42.8mpg range. These are impressive figures a large panel van in the up to 3.5 tonne gvw sector.  Citroën  has also cut CO2 emissions with the new Relay, and has managed to get CO2 emissions under 200g/km for all models up to 3.5 tonnes.

Emissions will be helped by the specification of a six-speed gearbox on all new Relay models and by the specification of Stop & Start on many models.

Citroën is also taking a more holistic approach to cutting emissions, specifying all new Relay panel vans (and their small Berlingo and Dispatch siblings) as standard with sophisticated Teletrac satellite navigation and stolen vehicle tracking systems.  The use of this advanced telematics platform significantly improves vehicle productivity and efficiency, as well as cutting unnecessary mileage, reducing driver stress levels and improving safety.

Euro NCAP test results: Nissan e-NV200, Citroen Berlingo & Peugeot Partner

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I’ve remarked before on the tendency for new van models to score relatively poorly in the Euro NCAP safety tests, compared to contemporary cars.

Ford has somewhat bucked the trend with its all-new range of vans, but most manufacturers are continuing to specify their vans and van-derived MPV models with fewer, more basic safety systems than purpose-built cars.

Euro NCAP has just published its latest round of test results, which tend to confirm my theory, with even the smallest supermini car models outscoring several new van-derived MPVs:

  • Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class: Five Stars
  • Toyota Aygo (also Citroën C1 and Peugeot 108) cars: Four stars
  • Renault Twingo: Four stars
  • Nissan e-NV200 Evalia: Three stars
  • Citroën Berlingo / Peugeot Partner MPV: Three stars

Let’s take a closer look at the reasons for these poor scores.

Nissan e-NV200 electric van

The MPV version of the e-NV200 only managed a three-star score in the latest Euro NCAP tests — compared to five stars for the new Qashqai.

Nissan e-NV200 Evalia

The e-NV200 Evalia is an electric people carrier version of the recently-launched e-NV200 van. Although the van model has won widespread praise from fleet trial users, its three-star safety test result highlights several weaknesses.

While Nissan’s new Qashqai model — similar in size — scored five stars in the same test earlier this year, the e-NV200 Evalia was let down by a poor 38% score in the Safety Assist category of the test, compared to 79% for the new Qashqai.

Although both models have an electronic stability system, the Evalia had a non-compliant speed limiter system, no seat-belt reminder for rear seats, and no optional lane departure or autonomous braking systems — all of which were available as standard or as options on the Qashqai.

Peugeot Partner / Citroën Berlingo

Citroën’s new Berlingo MPV model (which is identical in safety terms to the Peugeot Partner) also scored three stars in the 2014 Euro NCAP tests.

The 2014 Citroën Berlingo

The MPV version of the new Berlingo scored three stars in the latest Euro NCAP tests.

Despite its larger size, the Berlingo scored just 56% and 74% for adult and child occupancy safety — compared to 80% in both categories for the new supermini C1 model.

The Berlingo also faired worse in the Safety Assist tests, scoring only 48%, against the C1’s 56%. In fairness, Citroën’s C-Elysée saloon model, which was also tested earlier this year, also scored worse than the new C1, suggesting that one cause for this might be the older origins of the current Berlingo design, compared to the C1.

However, I think that most consumers would expect a larger vehicle to be safer for occupants than a smaller car of the same age.

Should van drivers worry?

It’s important to remember that these scores are all relative — in reality, today’s new cars and vans are considerably safer than most older models. It’s just surprising that van-derived models seem to continue to lag car designs.

Things are generally improving, however — the Ford Transit Custom scored five stars last year in its Tourneo guise, while the VW Transporter Kombi and Mercedes-Benz Citan Kombi also managed four-star scores in last year’s test.

The main sticking point this year appears to be a relative lack of safety systems, such as lane departure and autonomous braking, in new vans — areas which are receiving greater emphasis in this year’s test.

Citroën injects £2m to boost availability of van conversions

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Citroen Relay conversionsI’ve written about Citroën and other manufacturers‘ van conversion ranges a number of times over recent years.

Being able to order a van — such as a luton or tipper — and take delivery of it from your local dealer means that small businesses can avoid the hassle of arranging third-party conversions and don’t have to worry about new EU type approval requirements.

However, there’s still that pesky lead time — the van has to be built, and then converted (usually by a third party contracted to the manufacturer) before the customer can take delivery.

It’s not exactly like buying from stock.

Citroën is well aware of SMEs’ need for timely availability and is taking steps to increase the stock of ready-built conversions across its UK dealer network by investing £2.4m in a further 100 ready-bodied Relay vans.

These models will join the new LCV stock already held across the unique Citroën Business Centre network from September onwards, and will include:

  • 40 x New Relay 35 L2 HDi 130 6-speed manual Tipmaster-bodied Tippers @ £23,735 + VAT & delivery
  • 30 x New Relay 35 L3 HDi 130 6-speed manual Ingimex-bodied Dropside trucks@£22,440 + VAT & delivery
  • 30 x New Relay 35 L3 HDi 130 6-speed manual Buckstone-bodied Luton vans @ £24,970 + VAT & delivery

All of these ready-bodied Relay models are covered by Citroën’s 2 year/unlimited mileage or 3 year/100,000 mile factory warranty for both the chassis and the conversion bodywork — another bonus of manufacturer-backed conversions.