The wraps have come off the new Fiat Titano 1-tonne bakkie, which appears to be little more than a rebadged Peugeot Landtrek. But could it end up being assembled in SA?

This is the new Fiat Titano 1-tonne bakkie. Look familiar? Well, that’s because it’s effectively a rebadged Peugeot Landrek, which itself is based on the Changan Kaicene F70 offered in China.

Judging by the only images (a pair of front-3-quarter shots) released thus far, the Italian automaker has made very few changes to the bakkie’s exterior styling. We can spot a tweaked grille (with Peugeot’s lion emblem supplanted by the Fiat badge, of course) as well as a new alloy-wheel design. Other than that, the Titano looks just like the Landtrek.

So, will we see the new Titano in South Africa, playing in a segment dominated by the Toyota Hilux, Ford Ranger and Isuzu D-Max? Well, official details are still very thin on the ground, though the press material from Brazil suggests the Landtrek twin will be available in both Latin America and Africa.

Orders for the new Titano have already opened in Algeria.

For now, Algeria is the only African country for which the Titano has been confirmed, with orders having already opened in that nation. But, like the vast majority of Latin America, Algeria is a left-hand-drive market, which leads us to believe right-hand-drive production has not yet commenced.

That could change, however, considering Stellantis South Africa plans to start assembling the Landtrek at its new Coega facility near Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape in early 2026. With the multinational automotive group claiming production volumes “up to 50 000” completely knocked down (CKD) units annually, including for export, there certainly seems to be an opportunity to add the new Titano to the assembly line.

Peugeot’s Landtrek remains a fairly unfamiliar sight on SA roads.

So, what do we know about the new bakkie? Well, slotting in above the Strada (the next-gen version of this half-tonner has incidentally been pencilled in for Mzansi) and Toro in Latin America, the Titano – with production having already commenced in Uruguay – looks set to be offered on that continent with a 2.2-litre, 4-cylinder turbodiesel engine, and exclusively in double-cab form.

However, in Algeria, the Titano instead inherits the Landtrek’s 1.9-litre, 4-cylinder turbodiesel engine, which generates peak outputs of 110 kW and 350 Nm. Furthermore, Algeria will receive both single- and double-cab body styles, with the former offered in 4×2 form and the latter in 4×4 configuration (though both seemingly with 6-speed manual gearboxes only). The payload capacity is listed as “up to 1 210 kg”.

Fiat’s last stab at the 1-tonne bakkie market came in the form of the Triton-based Fullback.

Of course, not too long ago, Fiat offered a 1-tonner in the form of the Fullback, though that model was based on the 5th-generation Mitsubishi Triton and quietly went out of production around 2020. Will the Landtrek-based version see more success?

As a reminder, theLandtrek launchedin South Africa towards the end of 2021, with just a pair of derivatives (4×2 and 4×4) available locally. Both employ the aforementioned 1.9-litre oil-burning motor, though in combination with a 6-speed automatic transmission. Over the past 11 months, Peugeot SA has sold 312 examples of its Landtrek locally, which translates to a monthly average of just 28 units.

Related content

Next-generation Fiat Strada pencilled in for South Africa

10 best-selling bakkies in South Africa: November 2023

Toyota Hilux Hybrid 48V: power & torque figures released