Peugeot one-tonne ute in the frame for Australia

Peugeot says is considering a one-tonne ute for developed markets such as Australia as it rebuilds its global LCV portfolio.

The French car-maker’s global boss, Jean-Phillipe Imparato, says Peugeot will also bring to market electrified commercial offerings beginning with the updated Boxer as part of a revamped LCV onslaught.

Speaking with Australian media at a roundtable discussion in Sydney, Imparato said Peugeot’s one-tonne ute would first grace developing markets such as Latin America, South America and the Middle East, before consideration is made for developed markets including Australia.

“I don’t know if we will launch in Australia but we will have a pick-up in the coming months, in the one-tonne market. We won’t be in Australian market right away but we will be in other markets,” said Imparato, who implied the one-tonne offering would be revealed in a matter of weeks.

“For Australia, it’s a question of price and regulation. At the moment my aim is to cover Middle East, South and Latin America for Peugeot to come to where Peugeot was some decades ago.

“At the moment, the pricing and specification requirements of these regions do not match the Australian requirements.”

Peugeot’s parent company, PSA, currently has an agreement with Toyota to build a small commercial van. Imparato said that agreement would not extend to a Peugeot ute based on the Toyota HiLux.

“I don’t have any specific information on this side, but the fact is we don’t have any link on this,” he said.

Instead, the Peugeot offering will leverage other alliance partners of the PSA Group.

These could potentially include Chinese partner Changan.

Peugeot’s global boss said it was a personal desire to revive a French pick-up, referencing the original of 1946.

“Sixty years on from the original, we are not in this market and I want to be in this market,” he said.

“But I want to learn the right way, because Australia is a product-specific market with specific spare parts. Let’s start with something that is affordable for some destination and after having learned… [look at Australia].”

Along with the utility focus, Imparato said Peugeot would renew its focus on other LCVS, namely with the launch of electrified variants.

“In some countries we are leaders with Peugeot LCV. There is no reason why we cannot be successful in Australia,” he said.

“Every member of the LCV portfolio will (feature an electrified variant) in the future, beginning with the new Boxer and then the Expert. In the coming years, each and every model will offer an electrified variant, but to be clear, it will still be a Peugeot.

“Because I’m selling a Peugeot… it will be the customer’s choice. Each variant can provide the choice of powertrain. The power of choice is yours.”