Autos Spider: Citroen's C-Crosser SUV will be a hit in Russia

TARBES, France -- Citroen believes its new C-Crosser SUV will be a hit in Russia.

The French brand expects nearly 10 percent of the annual sales of the medium SUV to be to Russians.
“We are counting on selling 1,800 C-Crossers in Russia, starting next year,” Jean-Louis Saugier, an executive in Citroen’s products and marketing division, said at the SUV’s introduction here.

Citroen will launch the C-Crosser in Russia later this year, when the model is available with a 170hp, 2.4-liter gasoline engine supplied by Mitsubishi.

Russians like SUVs but they do not like diesels, Matt Donnelly, CEO of Rolf Group, Russia’s largest importer and retailer of foreign cars, told the Automotive News Europe Congress in Prague last month.

Last year, Citroen’s sales in Russia increased to 11,934 units from 6,922, according to the Association of European Businesses in the Russian Federation.

The C-Crosser went on sale in France in April with a 156hp, 2.2-liter diesel engine. It will launch in other European markets in the next few months.

The C-Crosser and its sister model, the Peugeot 4007, are built for PSA/Peugeot Citroen by Mitsubishi in its Mizushima, Japan, plant. Both models are based on the Japanese automaker’s Outlander medium SUV.

The French brands’ SUVs differ from each other mainly in their front-end design. Chrome chevrons on the C-Crosser’s grille give it a typical Citroen look. The 4007 follows Peugeot’s design language with its feline-styled front end and large lion brand badge on the hood.

In Europe, the Outlander is the cheapest of the three variants, with prices starting at €28,999 in France. C-Crosser prices start at €34,250 while the 4007’s base price is €34,600.

PSA has asked Mitsubishi to supply a combined 40,000 units a year of the C-Crosser and 4007. PSA’s original request when the companies signed a supply agreement in November 2005 was for 30,000.

Peugeot and Citroen expect that most sales of the two brands’ first SUVs will be in France, at about 4,000 units a year for each model.