In the world of light commercial vehicles (LCVs), few names carry as much weight as the Peugeot Partner, Citroën Berlingo, Opel/Vauxhall Combo, and Fiat Doblò. These workhorses of Europe’s roads—and driveways—just hit a major milestone. The Stellantis Pro One Business Unit has announced that its Vigo, Spain, manufacturing plant has rolled off its two-millionth example of the current-generation small van family. The honor of marking the moment? A Citroën Berlingo passenger variant.
That figure isn’t just impressive—it’s symbolic of how deeply rooted Vigo is in the European commercial-vehicle landscape. Since 1996, the plant has produced 6.5 million units of these compact carriers across three generations (known internally as M49/59, B9, and K9). And stretching further back, since its doors opened in 1958, Vigo has assembled more than 16 million vehicles total—half of them light commercial models.
Built for Work. And Everything Else.
Launched in 2018, this latest crop of Stellantis small vans—Peugeot Rifter/Partner, Citroën Berlingo/Berlingo Van, Opel/Vauxhall Combo Life/Cargo, and Fiat Doblò/Doblò Van—shares a modular platform engineered for versatility. Available in both passenger and cargo configurations, they cater equally to tradespeople, families, and urban fleets.
Vigo’s System 2 production line currently builds around 1,200 units per day, shipping them to over 70 markets worldwide. And since 2021, that output includes fully electric versions, each powered by a 50-kWh lithium-ion battery pack good for roughly 275 kilometers (171 miles) of range on the WLTP cycle.
It’s this combination of scale, adaptability, and electrification that has made Stellantis a dominant force in Europe’s compact LCV segment. Together, these models hold a 49-percent market share across the European Union, with 137,000 units sold so far this year—nearly one out of every two small vans sold.
The People Behind the Milestone
The two-millionth-vehicle celebration brought together Stellantis Pro One’s global head Emanuele Cappellano, Vigo plant director José Luis Alonso Mosquera, and a team of proud workers for a commemorative photo on the factory floor.
“It is an honor to participate in this event, which reaffirms the strong leadership of our light commercial vehicles,” Cappellano said. “With both internal combustion and battery-electric versions, we’re able to offer sustainable mobility without compromise.”
Mosquera echoed that pride, calling the achievement “a symbol of transformation” and proof that Vigo remains a benchmark for efficiency and quality in both thermal and electric production.
Innovation, Backed by Legacy
Vigo’s expertise in alternative powertrains isn’t new—it stretches back to 1995 with the electric Citroën C15, a quirky pioneer that hinted at today’s e-van boom. The plant’s transformation has been bolstered by support from the Galician regional government, whose Axencia Galega de Innovación helped back the industrialization project for Stellantis’s multipurpose van lineup.
Today, with Stellantis’s multibrand platform strategy firing on all cylinders, Vigo stands as a model for how tradition and innovation can coexist on the same assembly line. Two million vehicles later, the formula still works: build them smart, build them versatile, and build them to last.
Source: Stellantis