Toyota and Stellantis to Partner on a Large Commercial Van for the European Market, Including an All-Electric Version

author: FutureCar Staff    

Automaker Stellantis is partnering with Toyota Motor Europe on a new large-size commercial van, which will also be offered in a fully-electric version. The new vehicle will round out the lineup of vans produced as part of the agreement between the two automakers, which also includes a compact and mid-size commercial vehicle for the European market.

Stellantis will supply Toyota Motor Europe with the new large-size commercial van in Europe, which will be sold under the Toyota brand. It will be the first new large-size commercial van for Toyota and its first entry into the large-size commercial vehicle segment in the European market.

The new commercial van will be produced at Stellantis' plants in Gliwice, Poland and Atessa, Italy. Production is planned for mid-2024. 

"Operational excellence is by definition recognized in this expanded deal," said Carlos Tavares, Stellantis CEO. "With this third successful engagement, Stellantis is further demonstrating its expertise in the commercial vehicle segment and in developing battery electric technology built to support a full range of needs. This agreement strengthens our leadership in the EU30 for LCVs and low emission vehicles and moves us a step closer to realizing our Dare Forward 2030 goal of becoming the undisputed global light commercial vehicle leader, in terms of technology, manufacturing, market share and profitability."

Stellantis and Toyota first collaborated on a vehicle in 2012 with the launch of Toyota's mid-size commercial vehicle produced at Stellantis' Hordain plant in France. In 2019, the two automakers added a compact-size commercial van to the lineup, which was built at Stellantis' plant in Vigo, Spain. 

The large-size commercial van announcement today deepens the collaboration between Stellantis and Toyota. Working together allows both automakers to benefit from development and production cost optimization.

"We are pleased that we can extend this successful partnership through the introduction of a new large-size commercial van," said Matt Harrison, President and CEO at Toyota Motor Europe. "It represents an important addition and completes our light commercial line-up for Toyota's European customers."

The partnership with Stellantis is Toyota's second collaboration with a rival automaker since last year.

In Japan, Toyota partnered with its domestic rival Subaru on the Solterra electric SUV, which is the first electric model from Subaru. The Solterra was developed with equal contributions from both automakers.  The electric SUV is built on the e-SUBARU Global Platform, a new dedicated EV platform that will underpin future models from Subaru. The EV platform of the Solterra was developed in collaboration with Toyota in Japan. 

The Solterra is the second vehicle that was co-developed by Toyota and Subaru, following the Toyota BR86 and Subaru BRZ sports cars launched this year.

FutureCar Staff