In a short time, Renault is losing another partner in the field of commercial vehicles. After Opel, he will no longer cooperate with Fiat.
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FIat ends cooperation with Renault in the field of commercial vehicles. French carmaker for the Italian one since 2016, it has been producing the Talento model at its Sandouville plant, which is the brother of Renault Trafic. Renault’s Deputy CEO Clotilde Delbos informed about the termination of the cooperation.
“We are ending some agreements, including one with Fiat. Our sales to partners will slow to stabilize at a low level before we are able to sign new contracts. ” says Delbos.
The step by the Italian carmaker was expected in advance, as it is a logical solution. The Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Group is completing its merger with the PSA Group, so it is a good choice in the future for both parties to produce supplies together under the new Stellantis Group in the future.
After all, in the past he ended his cooperation with Renault in this way Opel, which used French technology in the Vivaro utility model. However, after joining the PSA Group, the cooperation ended and in 2019 a new Vivaro arrived, this time already using the basis from PSA. These are the new siblings of the Citroën Jumpa and the Peugeot Expert. The Toyota ProAce is then built on the same foundation. On the contrary, the Opel Movano continues as the brother of the Renault Master.
Nevertheless, the end of the cooperation between Fiat and Renault is relatively spicy. Before the Italian carmaker decided to merge with PSA, the management discussed a possible merger with Renault. However, the management of the French carmaker refused such a step, so the Italians sought help from the competition. And they found it.
If this cooperation takes place seriously (perhaps only antitrust authorities can oppose it), Fiat will actually only return to cooperating with PSA in the area of medium-sized supplies. The Fiat Scudo, produced in two generations between 1994 and 2016, was already a sibling of the contemporary Citroën Jumpa.
The two companies even had two joint supply plants – Sevel Nord in Valenciennes, France, and Sevel Sud in Atessa, Italy. While the former today belongs to PSA and produces its medium-sized vans, the latter remains a joint venture between the two entities and produces large utility models, the Fiat Ducato, Peugeot Boxer and Citroën Jumper. Opel Movano’s successor will also join them in the future.
The words of the Deputy CEO of Renault indicate that the carmaker will not yet look for ways to fill the production capacity of the Sandouville plant. But maybe cooperation with the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance will suffice. Alongside the Renault Trafic, technically identical models are also produced there Nissan NV300 and Mitsubishi Express, which began production there this year. The model with three diamonds in the emblem is intended primarily for the Australian market.
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