Citroën Berlingo

The Citroën Berlingo and Peugeot Partner are a range of minivans produced since 1996 and marketed under the Citroën and Peugeot marque. They are sold as light commercial vehicles or as a passenger multi-purpose-vehicle variant with rear seats and windows. They were a product of the French PSA Group before it became part of Stellantis in 2021. The third generation is sold under the Opel and Vauxhall marques as the Combo, by Toyota as the Proace City since 2019, and by Fiat as the Doblò since 2022.

The panel vans are available in passenger versions named the Berlingo Multispace and Partner Combi, Partner Tepee, and Peugeot Rifter for the third generation. In Italy, the first generation of the Partner was known as the Peugeot Rancher.

They were initially based on the Citroën ZX/Peugeot 306 estate floorpan and mechanicals. Today they use the EMP2 platform front-end while retaining the rear end of the previous version.

With their rectangular, box-like cargo space and aerodynamic front, conceptually they can arguably be considered the descendants of the Citroën 2CV panel van (AK400).

Both the Berlingo and Partner have been produced in CNG and electric versions and with four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines.

First generation (M49; 1996)

The Berlingo/Partner was officially launched in July 1996.

When the Berlingo was first shown at the Mondial de l'Automobile (Paris Motor Show) in 1996, a set of three concept cars was also presented: The Berline Bulle concept was a roomy small car, that could be considered as a precursor for the C3. Only one of these concepts was actually developed, the Grand Large version, which was developed into the Multispace and Combi people carriers/leisure vans.

Until 2010, the pre-facelift models were still produced in Argentina. The updated model finally arrived this year.[3]

• Berlingo Coupé de Plage
• Berlingo Berline Bulle
• Berlingo Grand Large

Second generation (B9; 2008)

Two different models replaced the first generation of the Peugeot Partner and Citroën Berlingo in 2008, a smaller vehicle (the Citroën Nemo/Peugeot Bipper, which also replaced recently discontinued Citroën C15 First) and larger (the Citroën Berlingo II/Peugeot Partner II).

The Berlingo II, styled by Gilles Vidal, used the PSA PF2 platform (like the Citroën C4), and therefore is slightly larger, and considerably more expensive than its predecessor.

The Berlingo and Partner were officially unveiled in January 2008, with the Berlingo launched first, in the European market, in April 2008,[14] followed by the Partner in May 2008.[14] Mexico sold this generation alongside the original Partner, as do a few other countries, as the Grand Raid and Partner Origin.

An electric version with a traction motor and battery derived from the Mitsubishi i-MiEV was available from 2013.[15] In March 2017, a five-seater Citroen e-Berlingo Multispace was announced.[16]

Third generation (K9; 2018)

The third generation Berlingo and a new Peugeot Rifter was officially unveiled at the 2018 Geneva Auto Show. The model is also sold as the fourth generation Opel and Vauxhall Combo after the PSA Group bought Opel in March 2017 and, from the end of 2019, as the Toyota ProAce City, following the extension of the partnership in utility vehicles between PSA and Toyota. The ProAce City was officially unveiled at the 2019 Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham.[26][27] The Fiat-badged version was released as the Fiat Doblò in June 2022 in both ICE and e-Doblò electric version.[28]

The third generation Berlingo is the first of the nameplate to be launched in Japan, in October 2019.[29]

In January 2022, Stellantis stops marketing the internal combustion versions (diesel and gasoline) of its passenger vans in United Kingdom, Norway and European Union countries.[30] This decision is motivated by a decision to reduce the average emissions of vehicles marketed by the company in Europe in accordance with EU regulations on emissions. As a result, the Berlingo, Rifter and Combo Life are (as of 2022) only offered in their battery electric version. Panel vans are not affected by this change, nor are Toyota-badged models, as the Japanese manufacturer is in line with the objectives of the CAFE regulations. The internal combustion variants of the Stellantis passenger vans are expected to return in 2023 with a mild-hybrid system.[31]

Worldwide sales and production

See also

• Berlin (carriage)

External links

• Official Citroën Berlingo web page
• Peugeot Partner Tepee Outdoor Exterior and Interior Full 3D HD
• Peugeot Partner Tepee Active MPV 1.6HDI 92 Exterior and Interior in Full 3D HD