Renault Koleos likely to be made in China

Shanghai, September 10 (Gasgoo.com) The all-new Koleos, French carmaker Renault's first Crossover SUV model, will be likely made in China for the local market, said xinhuanet.com today. The car will sell in China first as imported cars early next year before it is locally manufactured.

The Renault Koleos is a compact SUV which was first presented as a concept car at the 2006 Mondial de l'Automobile in Paris. The Koleos was designed by Renault and developed by Nissan. It is manufactured by Renault Samsung Motors, a subsidiary of Renault, at its plant in Busan, South Korea.

A South Korean-market variant is marketed by Renault Samsung Motors as the Renault Samsung QM5. The QM5 model, based on the Nissan Qashqai platform, is a new product jointly developed by Renault and Nissan at a cost of $600 million.

Renault Koleos' basic model sells for $35,500 (240,000 yuan), and the four-wheel-drive edition for $48,700. They were put on sale in the European market in July this year.

In Renault's China plan, imported Koleos will hit the Chinese market in March 2009 and the third-generation Laguna will also be imported to China for sale next year, before they are locally made in China.