Fiat has plans to market a rebadged version of the Peugeot Landtrek, though it’s not yet clear whether the bakkie will be available outside of Brazil…

Remember the Fiat Fullback? Well, the Italian firm looks poised to re-enter the 1-tonne bakkie market, though this time with a rebadged version of the Peugeot Landtrek under the Stellantis family banner.

Initially, at least, Fiat’s upcoming pick-up will be limited to the Brazilian market, where the Turin-based company dominates the compact bakkie segments with its Strada and Toro. But there’s also a possibility the as-yet-unnamed model will be rolled out to other countries down the line.

The since-discontinued Fiat Fullback was build on Mitsubishi’s Triton platform.

As a reminder, the Fullback was based on the Mitsubishi Triton and touched down in South Africa in 2016. Though an entirely competent vehicle thanks to its underpinnings, the Fullback struggled for sales, with production coming to an end in early 2020. It remained on the market in South Africa until early in 2021, before Fiat SA’s stock officially ran dry.

Judging by the single teaser image released by Fiat’s Brazilian division, the Fullback’s replacement – which is scheduled to hit that market only in the 2nd half of 2023 – will be little more than a rebadged Landtrek. Of course, the Landtrek is closely related to the Kaicene F70, which is built by Chinese brand Changan.

The Peugeot Landtrek remains a fairly uncommon sight on SA roads.

The Landtrek launched in South Africa towards the end of 2021, with just a pair of derivatives (4×2 and 4×4) available locally. Both employ a 1.9-litre, 4-cylinder turbodiesel engine, which generates 110 kW and 350 Nm, peak outputs that are delivered via a 6-speed automatic transmission. A turbocharged 2.4-litre, 4-cylinder petrol unit is also offered in some other markets.

Over the past 6 months, Peugeot SA has sold 236 examples of its Landtrek locally, which translates to a monthly average of just 39 units. Indeed, the Landtrek has yet to crack the list of South Africa’s top 10 best-selling bakkies, failing to trouble mid-tier sellers such as the Nissan Navara, Mahindra Pik Up and GWM P-Series, never mind segment leaders such as the Toyota Hilux, Ford Ranger and Isuzu D-Max.

Question is, would a Fiat-badged version fare any better?

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