If you happen to end up Citroen website and decide configure one of its Relay commercial trucks, you have a lot of options. Yes of course a panel truck versions, as well as windowed vans, several chassis cab options and even floor cabs. The most interesting and possibly most confusing choice is, something called Back-to-Back that looks like someone at Citroen got drunk and decided to sell a push-me-pull-you for fun.
As reported by Motor1However, there is a crazy method. While both cabs are fully functional, the aim is not to sell a van that allows British plumbers to engage in fun hide-and-seek games while actually causing more problems level they can overcome. No, the reason Citroen sells the Relay this way is because a lot of aftermarket manufacturers really just need the cab when building their campers or motorhomes or whatever else they decide to get into.
Citroen could easily sell its taxi-only models a la carte, but without rear wheels, transporting and moving them around for final assembly at an aftermarket repair shop would be prohibitive. inconvenient. However, by bolting two taxis together, it simplifies transportation, saves money, reduces waste, and keeps everyone happy. The fact that the Relay is front-wheel drive also makes it simpler to sell two at the same time. The potential for shenanigans if someone decides to fly the Relay Back-to-Back without separating the cabins is just a bonus.
And it actually saves those companies money. You can buy a cab with a Relay chassis for £36,882, but if you don’t need the chassis behind the cab then you have two extra wheels and a chassis to get rid of. Alternatively, you can buy a Back-to-Back for £36,018 and get two cabs for less than the price of a frame cab. If you run a company that sells aftermarket campers, you’re probably pretty excited about those savings, too.
