Toyota Peugeot 107
From: hugo_steincamp (hsteincamp@hotmail.com)
Date: Fri 17 Dec 2004 - 19:25:15 EST
Same difference, by design
13 December 2004
Toyota and PSA appear to have taken a leaf from the BMC badge-
engineering text book, with three peas-from-a-pod hatchbacks from the
same platform. Dave Moore tries to find some method in their madness.
Remember when the only difference between an Austin Cambridge, a
Morris Oxford and a Wolseley 16/60 was the grille, the upholstery, a
couple of badges and the pattern printed on the dashboard? Well, that
time-honoured British Motor Corporation technique of making several
supposedly different cars from a single source to ease costs, appears
to have been grasped with gusto by Toyota and its European partners
PSA Group (that's Peugeot and Citroen).
PSA and Toyota announced this month that a three-year joint project
to design, develop and produce three all-new small passenger cars for
the European market is close to fruition. To mark their progress, the
two companies – or is that three, the cars make it hard to tell –
have decided to release the first official photographs of the three
four-seater offerings. They'll be called, from left to right, the
Peugeot 107, the Toyota Aygo and the Citroen C1, and they're due to
go on sale in 2005, after being unveiled to the public at the Geneva
Motor Show in March.
Toyota and PSA say that while the three vehicles share a large number
of structural components, parts, and sub- assemblies, they each have
separate and distinct bodies that reflect the individual styles of
the Peugeot, Citroen and Toyota marques. Oh really? A famous naked
emperor was convinced by his public relations people (aka courtiers),
that he looked terrific in his new threads, and the Toyota/PSA public
relations organ appears also to have convinced itself that the three
new cars are indeed distinct and individual – just as Austins,
Morrises and Wolseleys were in the less sophisticated '60s.
Each car measures about 3.4m long, 1.6m wide and 1.4m high, and will
be powered by the latest generation of 1-litre petrol or 1.4-litre
diesel engines. Thus PSA/Toyota's triple treat is designed from the
outset to be compact, fuel-efficient and will be mainly suited to
urban driving. They will feature advanced safety and environmental
protection technologies and are primarily aimed at the European
market, where demand for this type of vehicle is expected to
increase.
>From the photographs, Drive notes that as is usual with other shared
product lines, a central body core and doors appear to be common to
all three cars, but the vehicles' lights, bumpers, and front and rear
wings have been contrived to deliver some separate brand indentity.
However, from the initial pictures of these cars, it would require an
expert to recognise the cars without taking a sly glance at their
badges.
Developed from a common platform, all three designs will begin
rolling off the production line at an all- new dedicated Toyota
Peugeot Citroen Automobile (TPCA) plant in Kolin, in the Czech
Republic next year. The plant will have an annual production capacity
of 300,000 vehicles 200,000 units for Peugeot and Citroen and 100,000
for Toyota.
The project has been designed to contribute heavily to the local
community, particularly as far as local job creation at TPCA and its
suppliers is concerned. It has already created 1500 jobs at TPCA,
with plans to hire a further 1500 people. Total investment is
estimated at $NZ2.5 billion.
If the cars do come to New Zealand, it would be unlikely that the
Toyota version will reach these shores. The ability of the Japanese
giant to set competitive prices in any given market would embarrass
Peugeot and Citroen a touch if their parent companies' more
intransigent bean counters had to charge a premium for exactly the
same car.
Of course, you could always privately import the Toyota from Europe
and stick on a Citroen or Peugeot badge. Same difference, eh!
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