15/02/2022 By acomputer 843 Views

50 years of utility vehicles

Batirama.com 05/13/20190

Citroen 2CV Van © Citroen

The life of utilities is not a long calm river. This sector has undergone radical changes over the past 5 decades.

They were born almost at the same time as the automobile. The first car manufacturers quickly realized that they also had to offer vehicles to working people. Renault thus developed its first utility vehicle in 1900, only two years after the birth of the brand.

At the time, they were called Commerciale or more poetically Normande (Citroën) or Canadienne (Peugeot). They are certainly less dreamy than supercars, Ferrari, Lamborghini or Bugatti, but are just as anchored in the collective unconscious. And like all objects linked to a bygone era, they exude nostalgia. They were the vehicle of the carpenter, the plumber or the baker.

Initially, these are robust, simple and economical machines. They are constantly evolving until they are now closer to the modern automobiles from which they derive. They indeed borrow from them, technical platforms, engines and equipment.

Until the 70s: nostalgia and sympathy

Citroen type H © Citroen

The post-war period is an economically blessed period. Vans help craftsmen and construction professionals rebuild France.

Each brand has its star model, generally from the compact ranges, corresponding today to the Renault Trafic or the Citroën Jumpy. These vehicles are designed to be as efficient and economical as possible. Style is not the priority. The bodywork is clad in sheet steel. They are often built on the model of the forward cabin which allows excellent visibility in addition to providing a maximum useful volume. The passengers are installed above the engine, placed between the front wheels.

Gear that triggers sympathy

At Citroën, the very economical front-wheel-drive TUB (already) from the post-war period was quickly replaced by the charming Type H. The very long career of the latter began in 1948 and ended in 1981. a charming bulldog face. The H already has a side sliding door which was still rare in the 1950s.

At Peugeot, the prominent bonnet of the elegant D3, which later became D4, quickly earned it the nickname “pig's nose”. This utility actually appeared under the Chenard & Walcker crest just after the war. It was taken over by the Lion, which incorporated it into its range in 1950. It then received the in-house engines of the 203 and then the 403.

It was replaced by the famous J7 released in 1965. Equipped with two sliding doors at the front, the latter is driven with the doors open on sunny days, just to air the craftsman's chops between two construction sites.

At Renault, everyone remembers the Estafette. The small utility points the end of its Diamond in the early 60s. Painted in navy blue, the charming machine announces the squadron of gendarmerie and its ruthless radar which flashes motorists who are too fast. Abroad too, some utility vehicles are gaining star status. This is the case of the Transporter at Volkswagen. Also called Combi, it appeared in the early 1950s.

Decades 80 to 2000: the modern era

The utility market is growing. The manufacturers constitute real ranges based on several models.

Thus at Renault, the 80s saw the appearance of the Trafic which was to become and still remains today, the star of the sector. The range was enriched in 1983 by the large utility Master and also from below, with the Express derived from the then Super 5. Citroën launched the C15 in 1984. This derivative of the Visa was to have an interminable career. The C25 and C35 complete the offer from above.

Fiat also set up a range of VULs at this time. He launches the Fiorino derived from the Uno and the Ducato. The latter is developed with PSA. It is produced in the joint Fiat and PSA factory in Sevel Nord not far from Valenciennes. In 1995, these first models were replaced by utility derivatives of the Peugeot 806, Citroën Evasion, Fiat Ulysse and Lancia Zeta minivans.

This first large-scale alliance in the field of utility heralds the great rapprochements between manufacturers of the following decades. Be that as it may, the 80s and 2000s saw LCVs make great progress and approach automobile standards.

Current era: reconciliations of all kinds

During the 2000s, manufacturers became aware that the development of a utility vehicle was very expensive, and that volumes were sometimes reduced. They then embark on the path of pooling. Alliances are made and broken. Fiat and PSA have been designing their LCV together for many years. The Italian excluded from the alliance thereafter, then approaches the Losange.

This is why we find the Renault Trafic in the transalpine range under the name of Talento since 2016. Toyota takes the place of Fiat with Peugeot and Citroën. The Japanese ProAce is a clone of the French Expert and Jumpy. Diamond utilities are very popular.

In 1997, the Opel range thus welcomed the Renault Master and Trafic light commercial vehicles, renamed Movano and Vivaro. They are also found at Nissan, Renault's Japanese ally. Finally, Mercedes, which had no small utility, has been welcoming the Kangoo since 2012, renamed on the spot, Citan.

The takeover of Opel by PSA two years ago has changed the LCV range of the new German ally. Now the Vivaro is based on PSA's medium utility vehicle. Meanwhile, the little Combo swapped its Fiat Doblo base in 2018 for the PSA Berlingo/Partner platform. Not easy to find.

2000s: the big leap forward

Over the past fifteen years, LCVs have made enormous technical progress. They are intended to bypass the many urban traffic restrictions in place.

Thus the Citroën Jumpy and Peugeot Boxer have the same basis as the Peugeot 3008. The latest equipment joins the passenger compartments. The air conditioning spreads as does the surround-view rear-view camera. Finally, security is no longer a poor relation. All of the driving assistance devices are in the passenger compartments.

In the very short term, electric utilities should multiply in the city. They are intended to bypass the many urban traffic restrictions in place. VW already offers its e-Crafter, Renault its Master ZE and Kangoo ZE, Mercedes its eVito and eSprinter. Etoile has also been working on hydrogen for several years. We have seen many prototypes of Sprinter F-Cell running on 100% clean electricity.

These machines appear very well suited for craftsmen who work in cities and who encounter great difficulty in moving and parking. Volkswagen, very much in line with the eco-urban trend, even offers a Cargo e-Bike, a sort of modern-day tricycle.

Pedaling benefits from electric assistance. It allows you to “spin” at 25 km/h. The body of 0.5 m3 and 210 kg of payload, remains horizontal even in curves thanks to tilt leveling technology. The commercialization is planned in the coming months….

And for the future...

Manufacturers are also working on the VUL of the future. VW's delightfully retro-looking id-Buzz Cargo is due to arrive around 2022. It's based on the group's electric vehicle MEB platform. It offers between 330 and 550 km of autonomy. Finally, when manufacturers consider the future of LCVs, they are almost unanimous in imagining autonomous vehicles. These do without ruffles and therefore…

Drivers. On the motorization side, the electric is unanimous. Brands are hesitating between plug-in refills and in-house production using hydrogen. The future will tell us who is right.

Source: batirama.com / Nicolas Dembreville

50 years of utility vehicles