Cars may be more exciting, but a significant amount of an automaker's sales come from commercial vehicles. Toyota hasn't been in the European medium-duty van segment in some time since discontinuing the Hiace, but is now getting back in on the action with the Proace it has just announced. The Toyota Proace will be available in a variety of configurations, with payload capacities exceeding a metric ton, powered by diesel engines ranging from 89 to 161 horsepower and in panel van, glass van or six-seat passenger van form.

Extending the collaboration that jointly produces the Toyota Aygo, Peugeot 107 and Citroen C1 in the Czech Republic, the new Proace will be built for Toyota by PSA at its Sevelnord plant in northern France. In short, we're looking at a Toyota version of the Peugeot Expert and Citroen Jumpy, which is also sold by Fiat as the Scudo. That makes it almost as varied in its badging as Chrysler's minivan (which has been sold under the Dodge, Ram, Plymouth, Chrysler, Lancia and Volkswagen brands) or Daimler's Sprinter van (which has been sold under the Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner, Dodge, Ram and Volkswagen brands).