Autumn AX attack
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• Citroen's AX Enterprise hatchback van (CM 7 March) will be coming into the UK in October. Citroen also intends to extend its current C25 SEVEL-built panel van range with a high-volume 3.5-tonne gross weight version which could also go on sale in Britain in the autumn.
The little front-wheel-drive AX10E will complete Citroen's light commercial vehicle range at the lower weight limit where it will join the C15 Visa van, which has recently been enjoying strong sales.
The AX1OE has a payload of 420kg — some 15kg greater than the Austin Rover Metro, and 35kg greater than Ford's Fiesta Popular. Its load-bed is 1.32m long and it has a useful 1.17ms load volume.
Power is provided by a 954cc four-cylinder, all-alloy overhead-cam engine built by Citroen at Douvrin in France. The transversely-mounted engine is coupled to a fourspeed gearbox and has a maximum output of 33kW (44hp) at a high 5,200rpm. Peak torque of 73Nm (541bft) is delivered at 2,400rpm.
With its lightweight, windcheating body the AX10E hatchback van is expected to be very economical, and Citroen is already claiming an outstanding 3.91it/100km (72.4mpg) at 901unth (56mph) and 5.61it/100km (50.4mpg) at a constant 120km/h (75mph).
Citroen has yet to announce a price for the right-hand-drive AX10E, but in France the equivalent vehicle sells for around £3,790.
The introduction of a topweight, big-volume 3.5-tonne C25 would provide Citroen with a comprehensive panel van line-up. Citroen currently offers four versions of the C25 panel van in Britain, based on the 6.5m3 and 10.1m3 loadvolume bodyshells: the largest model is the 3.1-tonne.
Type approval of the 3.5tonne model is being carried out right now and Citroen plans to offer it with a choice of petrol, naturally-aspirated diesel and turbocharged diesel engines. New chassis cab, dropside, and floor pan chassiscab C25 models are also being type-approved.
Last year Citroen sold 2,478 Visa vans and up to the end of April this year it had registered 62 C25 panel vans and 962 C15 Visas.
• Leyland Trucks' French subsidiary, which was not included in the recent Leyland Daf merger, is being closed down with a loss of 70 jobs.
Leyland Whicules Industriels has a network of 30 dealers selling Leyland trucks and Freight Rover vans.