4x4 SEVEL for 1989
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• A four-wheel-drive version of the SEVEL van will be available to Peugeot Talbot, Citroen and Fiat next year for the first time, although the different marques are undecided about whether to offer the 4 x4 vehicle in the UK.
Peugeot Talbot will probably introduce the new model as soon as it is available from the Italian factory, although the company is currently reviewing its commercial vehicle marketing under its new LCV director Chris Ellis (see below left).
Citroen and Fiat, however, are yet to decide whether to take a 4x4 SEVEL van as they are suffering from shortages of the 4x2 models.
Citroen will be typeapproving the new all-wheeldrive van, but feels that the market (public utilities, fore stry, and military) will not look at an Italian-built vehicle to replace 4x4 conversions on Ford Transits and Bedfords. Fiat is also suffering from shortages and it seems unlikely that the company will import a 4x4 version that will divert righthand-drive production away from the standard 4x 2s.
The SEVEL factory has now stopped production of the 1.8Litre petrol engine, and all future production vans will only have a two-litre petrol engine as the spark-ignition option. Peugeot Talbot, which has a large stock of the 1.8-litre petrol engined-vans, will be the last of the UK companies selling the SEVEL van to switch to all two-litre petrol engines. The two-litre petrol is available in the 3.5-tonne gross weight, high-volume models.