Renault Koleos to land in China in early 2009

Shanghai, October 31 (Gasgoo.com) The all-new Koleos, French carmaker Renault's first Crossover SUV model, will be imported to the Chinese market in March 2009 to compete with numerous city SUVs locally made in China, said xinhuanet.com today. Its selling price may start from 242,000 yuan ($35,500).

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.

As the first SUV model carrying the Renault brand, Koleos is fashioned after the multi-purpose vehicle 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.

The Koleos features the four-wheel-drive system and comes equipped with either a dCi 150 engine or a dCi 175 engine and a choice between a six-speed manual or automatic gearbox. Renault Koleos' basic model sells for $35,500, and the four-wheel-drive edition for $48,700. They were put on sale in the European market in July this year.

The Koleos SUV is also likely to be made in China for the local market where it will go on sale first as the imported car early next year. Before its local production, the imported Koleos SUV may test the waters in the Chinese market.