CITROËN ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH BIG ISSUE GROUP

• Citroën UK to provide Big Issue Group with 16 electric vans as part of a three-year partnership.
• Big Issue Group to use Citroën ë-Berlingo Van and ë-Dispatch to distribute The Big Issue magazine to local vendors across the UK.
• All-electric ë-Berlingo Van and ë-Dispatch form part of Citroën’s ë-LCV line-up, which is comprised of a 100% electric version of every vehicle in the Citroën LCV range.

Citroën UK has announced a three-year partnership with Big Issue Group (BIG). The partnership will see Big Issue Group adopt a fleet of all-electric Citroën ë-Berlingo Vans and ë-Dispatch vans to support the distribution of The Big Issue magazine across the UK.

A total of 16 fully electric Citroën vans will join the BIG fleet. One of the Group’s key aims is to make its delivery process more sustainable and to tackle its carbon emissions. The Big Issue Group fleet transports over 2 million magazines to 3,300 vendors in a year, covering over 350,000 miles annually across the UK.

Citroën’s ë-Berlingo Van and ë-Dispatch will initially be used in towns and cities including Bournemouth, Bristol, Bath, Norwich and Newcastle, with more vans to be added to the fleet over the next three years. The partnership comes as many cities across the UK introduce low-emission zones, making the use of fully electric vans even more beneficial for all types of fleets and businesses.

Russell Blackman, Big Issue Group Managing Director of Commercial, said: “Citroën's market-leading approach to innovation and affordability of electric vehicles is the exact reason why they are the ideal partner to work with Big Issue Group. Our partnership will allow us to make even greater strides in the support and services we provide for the most marginalised across the country. In cities and remote, rural locations, we will be able to respond quickly when our vendors need us the most. At Big Issue Group we are excited for the next three years working alongside Citroën to drive change for good.”

Citroën ë-Berlingo Van offers load volumes up to 4.4m³ and payloads up to 803kg. With a 50kWh battery and a 100kw (136hp) electric motor, it has a zero-emission range of up to 171 miles (WLTP). Citroën ë-Dispatch offers up to 205 miles of range (WLTP) and provides operators with a payload of up to 1,004kg. Both Citroën electric vans support up to 100kW rapid (DC) charging, with a 0-80% charge taking just 30 minutes.

Big Issue Group is a social enterprise that aims to benefit the individuals, communities and organisations it works with. The Group consists of several different entities, including Big Issue Media, which publishes The Big Issue magazine – an award-winning weekly entertainment and current affairs magazine that supports homeless and vulnerably housed people across the UK. Vendors buy the magazines for £1.50 each and sell them to the public for £3, keeping the difference. In this way, the magazine provides individuals with the means to earn a legitimate income. 

Eurig Druce, Citroën UK’s Managing Director, said: “We are thrilled to partner with Big Issue Group in their important work ‘changing lives through enterprise’, and in particular to support their transition to electric vehicles so they can become more sustainable. BIG is a fantastic organisation that has been working to improve people’s lives for over 30 years by providing work opportunities – a hand up, not a handout is a philosophy we can definitely get behind. I can’t wait to see these vans out on the road, being used as sustainable electric workhorses in support of the Big Issue workforce.”

A special edition of The Big Issue magazine – covering the Citroën and Big Issue Group partnership – is out now and can be bought from your local vendor or via subscription here.

ENDS

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

JOHN HANDCOCK, HEAD OF COMMUNICATIONS

john.handcock@citroen.com - 07810 180249

MASON FINNEY, PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGER

mason.finney@citroen.com - 07788 178394

MICHAEL ARNOLD, PRESS FLEET MANAGER

pressfleet@stellantis.com - 07831 829410

JEREMY TOWNSEND, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR

jeremy.townsend@stellantis.com - 07827 896480

FOLLOW CITROËN PR ON TWITTER AT: @CitroënUKPR

FOLLOW CITROËN PR ON INSTAGRAM AT: @CitroënUKPR

The Citroën brand

Since 1919, Citroën has created automobiles, technologies, and mobility solutions to respond to evolutions in society. Being an audacious and innovative brand, Citroën places serenity and wellbeing at the heart of its customer experience, and offers a wide range of models, from the unique Ami, an electric mobility object designed for the city, to sedans, SUVs, and commercial vehicles, most of them available with electric or plug-in hybrid powertrains. A pioneer brand in services and the attention paid to its individual and professional customers, Citroën is present in 101 countries with a network of 6200 sales and service points around the world. Citroën UK media website: www.media.stellantis.com/uk-en/citroen

The Big Issue Group

Big Issue Group is a social enterprise whose mission is to create innovative solutions that unlock social and economic opportunities for people trapped in poverty. Big Issue Group is deliberately constructed to create the greatest level of positive impact for individuals, organisations and communities through alignment to a shared mission. Big Issue Group consists of a number of different entities: Big Issue Media which includes The Big Issue magazine. An award-winning weekly entertainment and current affairs magazine, which offers a new hope for homeless and vulnerably housed people across the UK. When vendors are able to sell, they buy magazines for £1.50 and sell to the public for £3, keeping the difference. In this way the magazine provides them with the means to earn a legitimate income. Big Issue Invest (BII), founded in 2005, the social investment arm of Big Issue Group, which extends the organisation’s mission, offering loans and investment from £20,000 to £3 million to social enterprises and charities across the UK. The capital raised by BII is from private sources and not from sales of the magazine. Big Issue Invest currently manages or advises on £170 million of social funds. Big Issue Shop offers a platform for social trading that will make social and ethical shopping a truly accessible option for consumers, giving them the opportunity to use their spending power to make a positive difference to the world we live in. Big Issue Shop sells its own-branded products as well as those from other social businesses meaning every item purchased has a positive social outcome. This could be through what the product is made from, who it is made by or where the profits end up. Every purchase through Big Issue Shop puts people and planet first. For more information go to: www.bigissueshop.com

Big Issue Foundation is the organisation’s charitable arm, which exists to link vendors with the vital support which will help them address the issues which have led or contributed to their circumstances. The Foundation works with vendors, offering support, advice and referrals. In 2020, Big Issue Group partnered with ShareBike in the UK to create bike-sharing solutions in combination with social impact. Big Issue eBikes is a national eBikes scheme launched by The Big Issue Group, in partnership with Norwegian micro-mobility experts, ShareBike. The first eBikes were rolled out in Bristol in early 2022, with plans to expand nationwide and to provide hundreds of green jobs to under-served communities. To find out more please visit: www.bigissue.bike. Lord John Bird, Founder of Big Issue Group, is an independent ‘People’s Peer’, appointed in 2015 and is a co-sponsor of the Wellbeing Future Generations Bill alongside Conservative MP Simon Fell.

The Wellbeing Future Generations Bill will require the UK Government to: Work to prevent problems, including the climate crisis, poverty & pandemics from happening, and not just deal in emergencies; Give current and future generations a voice in decision-making, and protect them from global threats;Deliver a new, sustainable vision for the nation, as we seek to recover from the covid crisis, that prioritises our environmental, social, economic and cultural wellbeing. The full bill can be read here. The Big Issue Website: www.bigissue.com