Citroen engineers have been spotted while testing the 2017 C3 Picasso. We are writing about the platform brother of the 2017 Opel Meriva, and the MPV version of the next Citroen C3.
As some of you already know, General Motors and PSA Peugeot-Citroen have signed a partnership a few years back, and it included a joint development and production process of their B-segment MPVs.
Each brand involved in the alliance would get its design within the restrictions of the platform, but both cars had to be made in the same factory, and on the same production line.
The decision was not stubbornness, but an ingenious way to save costs. Naturally, GM and PSA are not the first carmakers in the world to build “twins,” as many automakers have rebadged and mildly restyled the products of another brand and sold them as their own.
In the case of the General Motors/PSA Peugeot-Citroen deal, some claim that each automaker will use engines developed in-house, instead of agreeing on a set of power plants for the new cars.
While the decision might not save more money than the typical choice of sharing powertrains, both General Motors’ European branch, and PSA Peugeot-Citroen have heavily invested in new engine ranges, and both will individually benefit more if they stuck to their units.
The prototype spotted by our friends at CarPix is heavily camouflaged. Even so, we can identify the fact that the vehicle is an early mule, has a sunroof, and is a right-hand-drive configuration. Its front light have strayed from the ongoing model, but their design resembles that of its larger brother, the C4 Picasso. The rounded-off body of the previous generation has gone away for a more squarish design.
Compared to the previous model, the shape has lost some of its funky appearance, but the car does still appear to have a particular sense of style. We are counting on Citroen to make a trendy MPV, and we are rather sure that they will succeed.
Each brand involved in the alliance would get its design within the restrictions of the platform, but both cars had to be made in the same factory, and on the same production line.
The decision was not stubbornness, but an ingenious way to save costs. Naturally, GM and PSA are not the first carmakers in the world to build “twins,” as many automakers have rebadged and mildly restyled the products of another brand and sold them as their own.
In the case of the General Motors/PSA Peugeot-Citroen deal, some claim that each automaker will use engines developed in-house, instead of agreeing on a set of power plants for the new cars.
While the decision might not save more money than the typical choice of sharing powertrains, both General Motors’ European branch, and PSA Peugeot-Citroen have heavily invested in new engine ranges, and both will individually benefit more if they stuck to their units.
The prototype spotted by our friends at CarPix is heavily camouflaged. Even so, we can identify the fact that the vehicle is an early mule, has a sunroof, and is a right-hand-drive configuration. Its front light have strayed from the ongoing model, but their design resembles that of its larger brother, the C4 Picasso. The rounded-off body of the previous generation has gone away for a more squarish design.
Compared to the previous model, the shape has lost some of its funky appearance, but the car does still appear to have a particular sense of style. We are counting on Citroen to make a trendy MPV, and we are rather sure that they will succeed.