Büssing-Hotchkiss-Lancia Europa-Jeep

The Büssing-Hotchkiss-Lancia (BHL) Europa-Jeep was one of the two competing prototypes for the Franco-German-Italian Europa-Jeep programme agreed in 1966. The aim was a light amphibious 4x4 with a 500 kg payload to replace the French M201, the German Munga and the Italian Campagnola; in France it was known as the VCL (véhicule de commandement et de liaison).

Hotchkiss joined the German firm Büssing and Italy's Lancia, competing against Fiat, MAN and Saviem. Prototypes were supposed to be ready for field trials by 1970, but the work moved slowly, and the whole programme fell apart in 1976 when France withdrew. Only a few rival FMS vehicles entered Italian service. By then Hotchkiss-Brandt had become part of Thomson-Brandt, and the failure of the VCL marked the end of the Hotchkiss name on jeeps.

The French Army then asked its own industry for proposals. These were all licensed versions of foreign vehicles, none of them amphibious, and Peugeot's P4 won a 15,000-vehicle order in 1981.