Citroën has presented the new edition of the ë-Berlingo in detail. The most important fact of the update is the switch to an LFP battery with a better net energy content of 50 kWh.

At the premiere at the ‘Stellantis Commercial Vehicles Ambition Day’ in October, it was suggested that the key data of the car would change very little. Now, we see that the changes are bigger than expected.

The update to the small electric panel van models based around the Citroën ë-Berlingo sounded like a small but sensible overhaul in October: the look was slightly adapted to the current brand identity (with the new logo), the connectivity functions were noticeably expanded, the interior and dashboard were updated, and practical features such as a heat pump were added to the vehicle.

Battery change

With a drive power of 100 kW and the 50 kWh battery mentioned in October without further details, the electric drive seemed to be excluded from the changes.

Now it is clear that there is a decisive innovation in the revised new edition: the new Berlingo, which is still only available in all-electric form in Europe, will be equipped with a battery with LFP chemistry for the first time.

More importantly, the stated 50 kWh energy content is not (as before) the gross value but the usable net energy content. Before, only around 45 kWh of the precedent 50 kWh battery was usable, which was enough for a WLTP range of 270 kilometers at the time. Now, the WLTP reach is 320 km.

Stellantis does not name the supplier of the LFP cells in the press release.  The affordable small electric cars based around the announced Citroën ë-C3 will also have an LFP battery. According to earlier information, these cells will come from SVOLT, but it isn’t confirmed yet if this will be the same for Berlingo.

Further details

Although the French company did not specify the exact DC charging capacity of the new LFP battery, it will probably be a maximum of 100 kW. The press release states it takes 30 minutes “at a public 100 kW charging station” to charge the battery from zero to 80%.

However, it remains to be seen how the LFP battery will behave at low temperatures in winter because Citroën doesn’t mention battery preconditioning in the communication. LFP batteries are considered sensitive to cold, and charging performance can drop noticeably.

The new ë-Berlingo has a standard 7,4 kW on-board charger and can be optionally equipped with a three-phase 11 kW charger.

The drive power remains at 100 kW. Stellantis has now switched to an electric motor with 115 kW for numerous passenger car models, developed in-house by Stellantis and Nidec. The 100 kW drive is still a supplier part, named EM3, sourced from Vitesco Technologies.

Also seven-seater

The ë-Berlingo has three separate sliding seats on the second row and is available in two lengths: 4,4 m and 4,75 m. The latter is an XL version with a third seat row so that the number of occupants can be augmented to seven.

With the seats folded, a cargo area of 2,7 m to 3,05 m in length is available, with a cargo volume of max. 4 m3 for the XL version. The car has two rear sliding doors with electric windows on the side.

The large tailgate has a separately opening rear window, enabling the loading and unloading of small packages without manipulating the entire tailgate.

Prices for the newcomer aren’t available yet. In Europe, only the full electric ë-Berlingo is sold. The former BlueHDI diesel and PureTech gasoline engines are available outside the EU and in specific markets.