Toyota’s
recently-unveiled Proace City compact duty van and the larger Proace medium
duty van will soon be available with electric powertrains as well. The Japanese
automaker said that battery electric versions of the Proace and Proace City
will be introduced in Europe as early as 2020. The announcement is part of an
ambitious growth plan for Toyota’s light commercial vehicle (LCV) business that
will be supported by a new division, Toyota Professional.
With many European
cities enforcing low emission regulations, Toyota says it will add Battery
Electric Vehicle (BEV) versions of the Proace and Proace City in collaboration
with platform supplier Groupe PSA. The first Toyota electric van to arrive will
be the Proace in 2020 followed by the Proace City in 2021.
No further details
were released, but it’s safe to say the two will share the electric powertrains
with the EV versions of the Peugeot Expert/Citroën Jumpy/Opel Vivaro and
Peugeot Partner/Citroën Berlingo/Opel Combo.
Toyota is using
this new product offensive to launch its LCV brand strategy called Toyota
Professional. The company says the initiative “will bring further focus and
dedication to LCV across its network.” In addition, Toyota will deploy a new
LCV network strategy to provide a specialized LCV customer experience. As part
of the Toyota Professional strategy, some existing business centers will become
LCV centers with specialized staff.
From early 2020,
when the Proace City goes on sale, Toyota Professional’s lineup will include
three models: the Proace City compact duty van, Proace medium duty van, and the
Hilux pickup.
