Opel, Renault tease new-gen van twins

RENAULT and Opel have previewed their versions of a co-developed mid-sized van that will become the next-generation Trafic and Vivaro respectively.

The Renault version is confirmed to arrive in Australia about March 2015, about 11 months after its world premiere alongside the Vivaro in April at the UK Commercial Vehicle Show.

Expect to see a some of the Renaults emblazoned with red Australia Post regalia over the next few years, following a deal inked between the two brands in 2013 that lasts until 2018, providing ‘posties’ with Trafics and larger Masters.

Opel’s version, meantime – which is expected to be built at Vauxhall’s Luton plant in the UK – is an outside chance to come to Australia as a Holden. Both Opel and Holden are subsidiaries of General Motors.

When Opel’s Australian arm folded last year after fewer than 12 months on sale, Holden said it would in future re-badge European-sourced Opel products in Australia where they could fill a niche. A mainstream van appears an ideal candidate.

Holden previously sold the Opel-derived Combo here.

Holden national manager of product communications Kate Lonsdale told GoAuto today that Holden reviewed potential Opel vehicles it could sell here, but said the company had nothing to announce on the Vivaro.

Renault’s third-generation Trafic, likely to be made in France this time around rather than the UK and Spain, gets new styling and a range of new engines, which Renault claims “benefit from its expertise in Formula 1”.

This statement no doubt refers to the expected diesel-hybrid drivetrain option, developed with help from European Union state aid, which will be sold alongside the bread-and-butter oil-burners.

Renault offers an all-electric version of its smaller Kangoo called the ZE, but it’s unclear if a larger Trafic EV could be on the cards.