The Fiat Talento, an all-new medium van from Fiat Professional, is expected to replace the Fiat Scudo in summer 2016. Built by Renault and sharing the same chassis and driveline as the Renault Trafic and Vauxhall Vivaro, the new Talento will be available to order from May 2016.
SEVEL Alliance coming to an end?
Between 1996 and 2016, medium vans from Fiat had been built by PSA and based on the Peugeot Expert and Citroen Dispatch. This agreement was due for renewal this year with the third-generation of the Fiat Scudo; however, Carlos Tavares, chairman of the PSA board, explained the Italians walked away from the deal.
Instead, Fiat signed a deal with Renault, with their medium van now forming the basis of four vehicles; the Renault Trafic, Vauxhall Vivaro, Nissan NV300 and the all-new Fiat Talento.
Fiat and PSA (Peugeot and Citroen) have been collaborating on van manufacturing in the SEVEL Alliance since 1978. SEVEL Sud (a Fiat factory in Italy) built the large vans, while SEVEL Nord (a PSA factory in France) built the medium vans and the two companies built their own small vans (Citroen Berlingo/Peugeot Partner and Fiat Doblo Cargo).
Engine and driveline
The new van will feature the same, economical 1.6-litre engines from Renault-Nissan which return up to 47.9mpg on the combined cycle on Euro-5 engines. It’s expected that there will be four power ratings, and a 144bhp output has already been confirmed.
Productivity
There will be two load lengths (2,537mm and 2,937mm) and two load heights (1,387mm and 1,898mm), which correspond to load volumes of between 5.4 and 8.6 cubic metres. There will be two nominal gross vehicle weights: 2.7t and 2.9t, which will offer payloads of around 1,000kg and 1,200kg respectively.
Availability and pricing
The list price for the 2016 Fiat Talento will be increased considerably from £16,835 plus VAT to between £18,500 and £19,000 plus VAT. It will come with Fiat Professional’s respectable three-year, 120,000-mile warranty and will arrive in dealerships in the third quarter of 2016.
