The
Opel Vivaro is a medium-sized
light commercial vehicleLight commercial vehicles is a commercial carrier vehicles with a Gross vehicle weight of up to 3.5 tonnes. The formal term within the European Union is Light commercial vehicles. Vehicles which qualify in this category are pickup trucks, vans and 3 wheelers all commercially based goods or...
produced by the German automaker
OpelAdam Opel AG, generally shortened to Opel, is a German automobile company founded by Adam Opel in 1862. Opel has been building automobiles since 1899, and became an Aktiengesellschaft in 1929...
, and sold under the Opel brand in most of
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, but under the
VauxhallVauxhall Motors is a British automotive company owned by General Motors and headquartered in Luton. It was founded in 1857 as a pump and marine engine manufacturer, began manufacturing cars in 1903 and was acquired by GM in 1925. It has been the second-largest selling car brand in the UK for...
brand in the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It was originally launched in 2001, and is available in panel van, minibus, combined bus/van and platform crew-cab configurations. Two different wheelbase styles and two roof heights options are also available, as well as three
diesel engineA diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
power options and a
petrol engineA petrol engine is an internal combustion engine with spark-ignition, designed to run on petrol and similar volatile fuels....
.
Joint venture
The vehicle resulted from a joint venture between Opel and
FrenchThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
manufacturer
RenaultRenault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
, and is also sold as the
Renault TraficThe current Trafic resulted from a joint venture between German Opel, Japanese Nissan and French Renault. It is also sold as an Opel Vivaro, Vauxhall Vivaro and by Nissan as the Primastar....
and by sister company Nissan, as the
Nissan PrimastarThe Nissan PrimaStar is a medium commercial vehicle originally launched in 2001, and is available in panel van, combi, bus and chassis cab configurations. Two wheelbases and two roof heights are available, as well as three diesel engines and a petrol. The vehicle resulted from a joint venture...
. It is primarily manufactured at GMM Vauxhall Luton Vehicles (previously IBC) in
LutonLuton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and by Nissan at their Zona Franca facility in
BarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
,
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
Design
The vehicle is distinguished by its somewhat flamboyant and unconventional front design, compared with its more traditionally designed competitors such as the smaller variants of the
Ford TransitThe Ford Transit is a range of panel vans, minibuses, and pickup trucks, produced by the Ford Motor Company in Europe.The Transit has been the best-selling light commercial vehicle in Europe for 40 years, and in some countries the term "Transit" has passed into common usage as a generic term...
and
Volkswagen TransporterThe Volkswagen Transporter, based on the Volkswagen Group's T platform, now in its fifth generation, refers to a series of vans produced over 60 years and marketed worldwide....
.
The vehicle was given a mild facelift in 2006 during which the front indicators were moved from the front bumper, up into the headlight housing.
Electric version
The Vivaro e-Concept debuted 2010-09-22 at the IAA Commercial Vehicle Show in
HanoverHanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It is plug-in hybrid vehicle, with an extended range of up to 250 miles (402.3 km) and includes 21 kWh lithium ion batteries enabling over 60 miles (96.6 km) of pure electric driving range.
Awards
In the UK, The Vauxhall Vivaro won the
Professional Van and Light Truck MagazineiVan is a United Kingdom based automotive industry magazine, which tracks the light commercial vehicle industry, and was first issued in September 2003....
Van of the Year 2006 Award, having been judged against competitors by a panel of van users, buyers and asset management professionals.
External links