Groupe PSA – the parent company of Peugeot, Citroen and Vauxhall has revealed the first fruit of its partnership with Chinese manufacturer Changan Automobile. It’s created a pickup under the Peugeot brand, called the Landtrek and based on the existing Changan Kaicene F70 pickup truck.
It’s a surprising result – though Peugeot hasn’t built a pickup in many, many years, its existing design language translates very well indeed to a vehicle of this nature.
The Landtrek will use the Kaicene F70’s platform and is likely to use the same engines. That means either 1.9 or 2.4-litre diesel engines, or a 2.4-litre petrol engine. Power output ranges from 129hp right up to 218hp.
Both Changan and Peugeot variants use the same basic interior – it’s Peugeot-inspired, with a row of piano-style keys and a large, landscape infotainment screen. The Peugeot model gets significantly more chrome, though, suggesting a push upmarket. A more basic ‘workhorse’ model will also be available.
Peugeot claims the Landtrek offers ‘unbeatable robustness and ease of repair’ – vital for developing markets, and it can be had as a single or double cab, or a bare chassis. All can tow 3.5-tonnes, have a wading depth of 900mm – which is very impressive – and 230mm of ground clearance.
Will the new Peugeot Landtrek come to the UK?
The new truck will be built in China at Changan’s dedicated Ding Zhou light commercial vehicle factory. So far, it appears that it will be concentrated mainly on the Chinese and Latin American markets, but Changan says the Kaicene F70 – on which the Landtrek is based – meets European Union ECE regulations and ‘adapts to the regulations of more than 100 countries and regions in the world’.
That sounds promising, and suggests that – while it’s by no means definite – Peugeot *could* theoretically sell the Landtrek in Europe.
PSA’s official statement, however, says that ‘at the first stage, the one-tonne pickup will be offered to Chinese customers and Groupe PSA overseas markets.’ We suspect this means ‘not Europe’.
That said, Peugeot has already launched a pickup into Africa in 2017 – the simply named Peugeot Pick Up pictured below is a rebadged version of the Chinese Dongfeng Rich (no, we’re not making that up) – so perhaps this new model would have wider ambitions.
So a possible ‘second stage’ might include continental Europe.
Does this mean there will be a Vauxhall pickup too?
Given PSA took ownership of Vauxhall – and its European cousin Opel – in 2017, a Vauxhall version of the new pickup would be a logical extension.
But, even if the truck does eventually come to Europe, there’s no guarantee we’ll see production in right-hand drive – just consider the repeated delays of UK sales of Renault’s new Alaskan pickup, and that’s just a reworked version of the Nissan Navara.
So, while this doesn’t mean there wouldn’t be an Opel version, a Vauxhall pickup may be even harder to quantify.
Also read:
>> New pickups coming soon – plus recent launch round-up
>> The Parkers pickup group test
>> The Parkers Pickup of the Year 2020
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