Stellantis and Toyota Motor Europe announced that they would be expanding their already established collaboration. In addition to this, an agreement has been reached to include a new van, which will also come in a battery-electric variant. The new vehicle is the third body type to be produced as part of the cooperation, and it brings the total number of body sizes available in the LCV portfolio to three: small, medium, and now large.
Stellantis will be the supplier of the new big van that Toyota Motor Europe (TME) will sell under the Toyota brand in Europe. Both the Gliwice facility in Poland and the Atessa plant in Italy will be responsible for manufacturing the new car. TME will officially enter the market for big light commercial vehicles in the middle of 2024 when it releases its new van.
According to Carlos Tavares, the Chief Executive Officer of Stellantis, "This enlarged agreement is, by definition, a display of Operational Excellence." "With this third successful engagement, Stellantis proves its experience in the commercial vehicle category and in developing battery electric technologies suited to fulfill a wide variety of applications," the company said in a press release. With the help of this agreement, we can further solidify our position as the market leader in the EU for light commercial vehicles and low-emission cars. It also gets us one step closer to the objective we set for ourselves in our Dare Forward 2030 initiative, which is to become the unchallenged world leader in light commercial vehicles in terms of technology, production, market share, and profitability.
The partnership between Stellantis and Toyota Motor Europe was initiated in 2012 with the production of Toyota's mid-size van at the Stellantis Hordain facility in France. This addition was an addition to the compact LCV segment. The current relationship has been strengthened by the large LCVs that were announced. In addition to this, it enables Toyota to sell its whole lineup of light commercial vehicles (LCVs) in Europe. Both firms stand to gain from optimizing costs associated with product development and manufacturing.
"It gives us great pleasure to deepen our fruitful collaboration with the acquisition of a brand-new van with increased cargo space. This is a significant addition, and it brings our selection of light commercial vehicles for Toyota's clients in Europe up to its full complement." According to Matt Harrison, President and Chief Executive Officer of Toyota Motor Europe, "The new light commercial vehicle, along with the Hilux pickup, the Proace, and the Proace City models, will represent an important contribution to Toyota's growth targets across the LCV range and will enable Toyota to offer a mobility solution across all segments of the LCV market."
Stellantis, which trades on the NYSE, MTA, and Euronext Paris under the ticker symbol STLA, is recognized as one of the most successful automotive groups in the world. "Our storied and iconic brands, which include Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citron, Dodge, DS Automobiles, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, Ram, Vauxhall, Free2move, and Leeasys, exemplify the passion of their visionary founders as well as the passion of today's customers in the innovative products and services they offer. This includes Free2move and Leeasys. We are designing the mobility of the future, and what drives us is our diversity. Our goal is to become not the largest but the best sustainable mobility tech business, providing value for all of our stakeholders and the communities in which we operate."
