Fiat’s Ducato is a firm favourite with hauliers as a no nonsense workhorse. John Kendall takes the new version for a spin to see if it can still deliver the goods.
FIAT HAS produced the Ducato heavy van range in a joint venture with the former PSA Group (Peugeot and Citroën) since the first models were launched in 1981. It has always been a more difficult balancing act for the former PSA brands to manage, as production was split 50/50 between Fiat and PSA leaving Peugeot and Citroën with 25% of the output each to Fiat’s 50%.
Now Stellantis has been formed from the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and the PSA Group, which included Vauxhall and Opel in the latter stages, after PSA had acquired those two companies from General Motors. It would seem logical that there will now be even closer co-operation between the companies with the joint venture now including Citroën, Fiat Professional, Peugeot, Opel and Vauxhall.
That said, in the run up to the formation of Stellantis, the joint venture had provided a bit more flexibility. Fiat had always used different engines from Peugeot and Citroën, but the latest Ducato Series 8 has undergone a mild re-design both inside and out, which neither Peugeot nor Citroën chose to take up.
