Citroen a no-go for light commercials in Australia with Peugeot carrying the load, but still no ute plans

Citroen Australia has confirmed light-commercial vehicles remain off the table for local consumption, with sister brand Peugeot to cover that part of the market solo for the foreseeable future.

Citroen Australia Managing Director, Kate Gillis told CarsGuide: “We’re not offering Citroen light-commercial vehicles in Australia. We’re putting all our LCV eggs in the Peugeot basket to give ourselves some volume opportunity just with that one brand.”

Previously a mainstay of the French maker’s local line-up, the compact Citroen Berlingo two-box van was withdrawn from sale here in early 2019, while Peugeot currently offers the closely-related Partner in ‘Standard’ and ‘Long’ versions with payload capacity ranging from 898kg to 1.0-tonne. 

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The front-wheel drive Partner competes with the similarly-sized Volkswagen Caddy in this market, and Renault is set to make it a three-way fight once again in 2023 with a new version of its popular Kangoo.

Two Partner models are offered - Pro and Premium - powered by a 1.2-litre, three-cylinder, turbo-petrol engine producing 96kW/230Nm.

In other markets Citroen offers the one-size bigger Jumpy in various configurations as well as a choice of diesel and electric powertrains. 

But in Australia, the Peugeot Expert fights in that segment against the likes of Toyota’s historically dominant HiAce, VW’s evergreen Transporter and the Hyundai Staria Load. 

The Expert is powered by a 2.0-litre 110kW/370Nm turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine in City, Pro and Premium grades, again in short and long models.

Citroen’s heaviest hitting commercial van is the mega-sized Jumper, available elsewhere in a bewildering range of van and cab chassis versions.

The Citroen Berlingo was withdrawn from sale here in early 2019.

Here, Peugeot covers that base with the Boxer, measuring no less than 6.0m long, over 2.0m wide, and more than 2.5m tall. Power again comes courtesy of a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel four, this time producing 120kW/310Nm and matched to a six-speed manual only. 

It can carry a close to 1.6-tonne payload, tow a (braked trailer) maximum of 2.5 tonnes, and competes with Renault’s super-sized Master as well as VW’s equally imposing Crafter.

Interestingly, Peugeot also offers the Landtrek ute in overseas markets, but there still seems to be no solid plans to offer it Down Under yet.

When it comes to EV light commercials Citroen has developed the E-Berlingo and E-Jumpy, but Peugeot goes one better with the e-Partner, e-Expert and e-Boxer available in Europe.

Peugoet currently offers three commercial vehicles in Australia.

And Peugeot Australia has confirmed its EV launch plans “across electric passenger, SUV and LCV product offerings” are close to finalised, a spokesperson telling CarsGuide: “We are delighted to confirm the first battery electric vehicle to launch in Australia will be an LCV with more information to be provided in due course.”

The e-Partner offers the same Standard and Long body options as its combustion counterpart, with a payload up to 800kg, and a driving range of up to 275km (WLTP). If it’s the first to arrive it will go head-to-head with the BYD T3 which offers a claimed 300km range.

The e-Expert is powered by a 100kW/260Nm electric motor and Peugeot claims a range of up to 330km, while the e-Boxer claims just 224km balanced by a mammoth cargo capacity of up to 17,000 litres. 

Stand-by for updates on which EV LCV is first in line for Aussie arrival.