Last month, Renault announced it would build a light commercial vehicle for Fiat starting from 2016, without offering any details.
Now, it has emerged that Renault will build Fiat’s replacement for the medium-sized Scudo commercial van, which is currently built by PSA Peugeot Citroen.
A Renault spokesman told AutoNews Europe that the Fiat van will be produced in Sandouville, France, following Renault’s €230 million investment to convert the plant from a passenger car production unit into a van production facility. Renault currently builds the Laguna mid-sized car and Espace minivan at the Sandouville plant, but production of these models will be moved to Douai, France.
The next-generation Fiat Scudo will be based on the latest generation Renault Trafic, which is also built in Sandouville alongside the high-roof version of the Opel/Vauxhall Vivaro. Production of the Nissan Primastar/NV300 van is also being relocated from Nissan’s Barcelona plant to Sandouville to free capacity for a new Nissan compact hatchback.
“The agreement will help both companies save manufacturing costs and demonstrates how French plants remain competitive,” the Renault spokesman said. Renault will produce 30,000 units of the Scudo during its first full year of production, with the Fiat-badged van to feature brand-specific front and rear ends.
Renault will allocate 80,000 units of Sandouville’s annual production capacity of 150,000 units for the Trafic and 9,000 units for the Nissan NV300. According to the same report, production of the Vivaro will take up less than 10 percent of the plant’s total output.
By Dan Mihalascu
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