Please click for more information.
Stellantis (NYSE: MTA / Euronext Paris: STLA) CEO Carlos Tavares during a visit to the Hordain site in the northern Hauts-de-France this week announced the mass production of Peugeot, Citroën and Opel light commercial vehicles in hydrogen-powered versions equipped with a fuel cell. Hordain is scaling up production of the Peugeot Expert, Citroën Jumpy and Opel Vivaro fuel-cell light-commercial vehicles to a so-called industrial level. Hordain employs 2440 people on three shifts, with daily production of 628 vehicles. The site assembled 144,650 vehicles in 2021 and produced its millionth “K-Zero”* in summer 2022.
Starting in 2024, the site Hordain will have a mini-mass production capacity of 5,000 vehicles per year of hydrogen-powered utility vehicles. This Stellantis said in a release reaffirms its goal to be the first mass-produced manufacturer of hydrogen-powered utility van vehicles. There is also a labor relations aspect to the move. Stellantis has 12 industrial sites in France, and unlike Ford Motor Company it has a stated “ethical desire not to separate its electric and internal combustion engine businesses, to engage all its employees in the energy transition.”
“I’m very proud of the work done by the management and employees at Hordain, who have made their site the first in the world to combine three types of energy, made possible by the flexibility of our manufacturing system,” said Tavares. “These hydrogen-powered vehicles will be assembled on the site’s multi-energy line, which already produces the electric and combustion engine versions of the “K-Zero” daily. Using a reinforced platform from body-in-white onwards, the hydrogen-powered models will then follow the usual stages of paintwork and assembly, on the same production line as combustion engine and electric vehicles, before they enter the new 8,000-m² facility that focuses solely on the final tuning.”
There are some nuances in play. A dedicated team will install the tank, the additional batteries, and the fuel cell on a production line at the Hordain site that Stellantis said halves the adjustment time compared to the previous small-scale process, where the fuel cell was assembled at a pilot workshop in Rüsselsheim. This mini-mass production of hydrogen-powered light commercial vehicles, helped by €10 million in investments with financial support from the French government, is a new step for Hordain, where 43% of models for the Peugeot, Citroën, Opel, Vauxhall, Fiat and Toyota brands are already available in a zero-emission electric version.
K-Zero* The “K-Zero” vehicles with a fuel cell are intended for long-distance freight professionals who require a longer range (400 km), the fastest possible charging time (3 minutes) and “no compromises on charging capacity” (1000 kg of payload). Launched in 2021, Stellantis is the first manufacturer in the world to market this type of vehicle.
Stellantis N.V. one of the world’s larger automakers and a mobility provider. Its brands include Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, DS Automobiles, Fiat, Jeep®, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, Ram, Vauxhall, Free2move and Leasys. “Powered by our diversity, we lead the way the world moves – aspiring to become the greatest sustainable mobility tech company, not the biggest, while creating added value for all stakeholders as well as the communities in which it operates,” says the Stellantis mission statement. For more information, visit www.stellantis.com.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Stellantis Hordain to Build Hydrogen-powered, Electric and Combustion Engine Commercial Vehicles
Please click for more information.
Stellantis (NYSE: MTA / Euronext Paris: STLA) CEO Carlos Tavares during a visit to the Hordain site in the northern Hauts-de-France this week announced the mass production of Peugeot, Citroën and Opel light commercial vehicles in hydrogen-powered versions equipped with a fuel cell. Hordain is scaling up production of the Peugeot Expert, Citroën Jumpy and Opel Vivaro fuel-cell light-commercial vehicles to a so-called industrial level. Hordain employs 2440 people on three shifts, with daily production of 628 vehicles. The site assembled 144,650 vehicles in 2021 and produced its millionth “K-Zero”* in summer 2022.
Starting in 2024, the site Hordain will have a mini-mass production capacity of 5,000 vehicles per year of hydrogen-powered utility vehicles. This Stellantis said in a release reaffirms its goal to be the first mass-produced manufacturer of hydrogen-powered utility van vehicles. There is also a labor relations aspect to the move. Stellantis has 12 industrial sites in France, and unlike Ford Motor Company it has a stated “ethical desire not to separate its electric and internal combustion engine businesses, to engage all its employees in the energy transition.”
“I’m very proud of the work done by the management and employees at Hordain, who have made their site the first in the world to combine three types of energy, made possible by the flexibility of our manufacturing system,” said Tavares. “These hydrogen-powered vehicles will be assembled on the site’s multi-energy line, which already produces the electric and combustion engine versions of the “K-Zero” daily. Using a reinforced platform from body-in-white onwards, the hydrogen-powered models will then follow the usual stages of paintwork and assembly, on the same production line as combustion engine and electric vehicles, before they enter the new 8,000-m² facility that focuses solely on the final tuning.”
There are some nuances in play. A dedicated team will install the tank, the additional batteries, and the fuel cell on a production line at the Hordain site that Stellantis said halves the adjustment time compared to the previous small-scale process, where the fuel cell was assembled at a pilot workshop in Rüsselsheim. This mini-mass production of hydrogen-powered light commercial vehicles, helped by €10 million in investments with financial support from the French government, is a new step for Hordain, where 43% of models for the Peugeot, Citroën, Opel, Vauxhall, Fiat and Toyota brands are already available in a zero-emission electric version.
K-Zero* The “K-Zero” vehicles with a fuel cell are intended for long-distance freight professionals who require a longer range (400 km), the fastest possible charging time (3 minutes) and “no compromises on charging capacity” (1000 kg of payload). Launched in 2021, Stellantis is the first manufacturer in the world to market this type of vehicle.
Stellantis N.V. one of the world’s larger automakers and a mobility provider. Its brands include Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, DS Automobiles, Fiat, Jeep®, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, Ram, Vauxhall, Free2move and Leasys. “Powered by our diversity, we lead the way the world moves – aspiring to become the greatest sustainable mobility tech company, not the biggest, while creating added value for all stakeholders as well as the communities in which it operates,” says the Stellantis mission statement. For more information, visit www.stellantis.com.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.