Citroën Commits To Fully Electric Light Commercial Vehicle Lineup By 2025
Citroën has led in the light commercial space for years and is kicking off an effort to convert 100% of its light commercial vehicles and their counterparts in the passenger vehicle space to electric. Citroën said that it sees electric vehicles as “an important driver for Citroën’s growth” moving forward.
The news comes as a much needed clarification to parent company PSA Group’s commitment to a 100% “electrified” lineup by 2025 that leaves significant room for interpretation. Electrified just might be our least favorite word of 2019 as automakers scurry to include not only plug-in hybrids, but standard hybrids, and even mild hybrids — a glamorous title for engines that turn off when the vehicle is stopped — under the banner.
As the first step in the journey, Citroën will launch a fully electric version of the popular Jumpy cargo van next year. Following close on the heels of the fully electric Jumpy, a 100% electric New Berlingo Van will join the ranks in 2021. “Citroën today is launching a major product offensive on the electrification of its light commercial vehicle range,” Laurence Hansen, Citroën Product and Strategy Director said in a statement. “The objective is to market an electrified version of each of its compact vans by 2enefiting from PSA’s finest know-how and supplementing the efficient internal-combustion-engine range.”
The Citroën Jumpy is currently the high volume utilitarian van in the family, and the electric version of the van will carry all of the functionality it delivers in its current form into the world of electric vehicles. It is available in a handful of configurations that make it able to adapt to the varied needs of construction sites, delivery duty, and long distance driving, to name a few of its tricks. Each configuration offers different hardware like higher suspension, traction control, and additional driver assistance systems that allow it to serve multiple segments in the market most effectively.
This driver-centric focus carries forward into the world of electrification with the addition of a lower environmental impact that sends a message to both drivers and customers. The electric Jumpy will also sport range that meets the needs of customers that brings all the benefits of electric vehicles to drivers without the need to compromise:
- 200 km (WLTP cycle) with a 50 kWh battery
- 300 km (WLTP cycle) with a 75 kWh battery
- Comfort: no vibrations or noise, and perfectly smooth movement
- Instant torque without the need to change gears
- The ability to drive in cities with CO2 emission limits
- Payload remains similar in comparison with the combustion engine versions
- Reduced cost of use
The brand is clearly talking up the fully electric Jumpy as an all-around improvement on its combustion-powered ancestors and we only have to wait a few months to see it. Light commercial vehicles (LCVs) are lucrative targets for electric vehicles as fleet managers tend to look at the total cost of the vehicle over time, and with the daily use, the payouts can be much more attractive. Electric LCVs also expose a wider swath of the world to electric vehicles as drivers, customers, and peers are all exposed to the benefits of electric vehicles without having to make a commitment themselves.
Citroën’s LCVs commanded an impressive 9.2% of the European market in the first half of 2019, making the commitment to electrification an honest push into electrification.
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