Sponsored by

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BMW will unveil 7-series hybrid

As environmental concerns be-come increasingly important, au-tomakers will showcase electricand hybrid powertrains at the2008 Paris auto show.Renault will unveil the Ondeliosconcept, which is powered by a2.0-liter diesel engine and electricmotors on the front and rearwheels. Although there are no plans tobuild the futuristic SUV-styledcrossover, Renault will continueto develop its hybrid technology.

Citroen’s Hypnos and Peugeot’sPrologue concepts will show thatPSA/Peugeot-Citroen plans to bea leader in introducing diesel-electric hybrid powertrains. PSA aims to introduce hybriddiesels on upper-medium carsand crossovers in 2011.Other hybrids that are scheduledto be at the show include:�Honda’s Insight gasoline-

electric hybrid hatchback� BMW’s mild-hybrid version of

the 7 series.

BMW will show a mild-hybridconcept of its new 7-series flag-ship sedan. The concept will combine a407hp gasoline engine with a 15kilowatt electric motor to cutCO2 emissions by 15 percent.BMW needs its latest 7 series tobe a hit to lift spirits at the com-pany, which is undergoing a deeprestructuring.BMW will target Mercedes-BenzS-class customers when the fifth-generation 7 series goes on sale inEurope starting in November.BMW wants the 7 series to topplethe S class from its position asworld’s top-selling upper-premi-um sedan. Last year, the 7 serieswas No. 3 in the upper-premiumsegment with global sales of44,421 compared with S-classsales of 85,000 and 71,760 salesof the Lexus LS.“We are aiming at conquest sales,”Philipp von Sahr, BMW’s head ofsales for Germany, told Automobil-woche, Automotive News Europe’ssister publication.To attract new customers, BMW is

offering lots of new technology onthe car including an eight-speedtransmission, four-wheel steering,in-car Internet access, and a night-vision feature that warns drivers ofpeople near the roadway.The new 7 series has a smoother,more elegant look than the cur-rent model. Critics said the cur-rent car’s flame-surfacing exteri-or design was ugly, althoughmany other carmakers are copy-ing the styling. The new 7 series “will contributea great deal” to achieving the car-maker’s 2012 profit targets, ac-cording to BMW CEO Norbert Re-ithofer. BMW also will show a concept forits X1, a premium SUV that will bethe smallest and cheapest of thecarmaker’s X range, which in-cludes the X3, X5 and X6. Based on the 1-series entry-pre-mium car, the X1 will go on sale inthe fourth quarter of 2009. Pricesare expected to start at €34,00 inGermany. The X1 will be built atBMW’s plant in Leipzig, easternGermany.

BMW 7 series

Brilliance

Brilliance Jinbei Automotive willshow four cars in Paris. The Chinese automaker will dis-play its lower-medium BS4 andupper-medium BS6 sedans, BC3coupe and BS2 small hatchback.All four cars already are sold inChina.The BS4 will compete in thesame segment as the Volkswa-gen Jetta and Skoda Octavia. IIt will go on sale in Germanyshortly after the Paris show withprices starting at €15,990. Oth-er European markets will get thecar later. An Octavia with thesame-sized engine starts at€16,340. The BS4 will be thecarmaker’s second modelsold in Europe after the BS6.The BS4 will cost more in Eu-rope than in China because

Brilliance has added safety andcomfort features such as addi-tional airbags, antilock brakesand power windows. BS4 pricesstart at about €8,160 in China.Brilliance has not said when theBC3 and BS2 will be sold in Eu-ropean markets.State-owned Brilliance is BMW’sjoint venture partner in China. Itis based in Shenyang, near Chi-na’s border with North Korea.

Hybrids take

Audi will debut a near-produc-tion concept for its new A1hatchback. The entry-premiumcar will compete with BMW’s 1 series and Mini models. Adding the A1 to its lineup ispart of Audi’s strategic goal tosell 1.5 million cars a year by2015.Audi will aim the A1 mainly atyoung male buyers who want asportier-looking car than theMini. The A1 will cost about€20,000. About 100,000 A1s will be builtannually in Audi’s factory inBrussels, Belgium, starting atthe end of 2009. The car likely

will go on sale in Europe inMarch 2010. There are no plansto sell the A1 in other marketssuch as the US.Audi likely will launch three- andfive-door A1 variants as well asa convertible. The car could also get a mild hy-brid drivetrain that would use asmall electric motor to give theengine a power boost.The Paris concept will be a de-velopment of the MetroprojectQuattro plug-in hybrid conceptthat Audi unveiled at the Tokyoauto show last autumn. Unlike the three-door Tokyocar, the Paris concept will havefive doors.Audi also will show a new ver-sion of its most powerful A6 –an RS6 powered by a twin-tur-

bocharged, 580hp 5.0-literV10 engine. RS cars are Audi’sultimate high-performancetrim level, positioned above

S models. The RS6 will go onsale in October priced at

€105,550.

Audi RS6

Audi Metroproject concept

Audi

BMW

Brilliance BS4

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Chevrolet will give a Europeandebut to the production Voltelectric car, which was first un-veiled September 16. Nissan’s Nuvu is an early look at aproduction-ready electric car setto launch in Japan and NorthAmerica in 2010.Amid the hybrid and electrichype, carmakers will unveil newgenerations of models that arebig sellers. Volkswagen will show its newGolf; Renault will debut the latest

Megane, and Ford will introducethe second-generation Ka. But don’t count out glamour entirely. Lamborghini’s coupe-styled four-door concept will beamong the showstoppers.

Citroen will show its Hypnos hybridconcept and the C3 Picasso smallminivan.The Hypnos will debut a newdiesel-electric hybrid powertrainthat PSA/Peugeot-Citroen plansto introduce in 2011, companysources say.Citroen said that with the Hypnosit aims to merge coupe-like per-formance with sedan-like ele-gance and SUV roominess.Its 200hp engine has fuel con-sumption of 4.5 liters per 100kmand CO2 emissions of 120 gramsper kilometer. Citroen’s boxy-styled C3 Picassowill compete with the Opel Meriva,Renault Modus and Nissan Note inthe small minivan segment.Citroen sees senior citizens andsmall urban families as potentialbuyers for the C3 Picasso.“We will target seniors who aremoving from a minivan or a sedandown to something smaller, butnot necessarily in a lower pricerange because they still want thesame level of comfort and fea-

tures,” Citroen brand boss GillesMichel said. “We will also targetthe young, urban household,” headded at a press event in Paris to introduce the model.The C3 Picasso will go on salestarting early next year.Citroen will produce the minivanin its Trnava, Slovakia, factory,starting with 93,000 units in2009, rising to 110,000 in 2010.The C3 Picasso’s vertical rear endmeans the minivan offers 500liters of luggage space, a largeamount for the segment.The C3 Picasso will have three rear seats that can be adjusted individually.

Citroen C3 Picasso

center stage

Want another copy?For a printer-friendly PDFversion of the Paris autoshow preview, go to:autonews.com/paris08

Chevrolet

Citroen

Chevrolet will unveil the Orlan-do and Cruze, two modelsthat it hopes will attractmore families to thebrand.It will also give a Euro-pean debut to the pro-duction Volt plug-in electriccar that was first unveiled Sep-tember 16 in Detroit. The new Chevrolet Camarocoupe will have its European debut.The Orlando concept previewsan SUV-styled seven-seat cross-over that could become a rivalto cars such as the seven-seatNissan Qashqai+2.The boxy-styled Or-lando combines thecharacteristics of anSUV, minivan andstation wagon.Chevrolet has not dis-closed whether the Orlando willbe built. But the concept showsthat the brand is getting readyto expand into the multipur-pose family vehicle market us-ing an SUV design.The Orlando is based on thelower-medium Delta architec-ture from Chevrolet’s owner,General Motors. The conceptuses the same 150hp, 2.0-literdiesel engine as the Cruze.which Chevrolet also will debutin Paris. The four-door Cruze is a lower-

medium sedan that will go onsale in global markets startingnext March. It will be one ofChevrolet’s core new models.In Europe, the Cruze which re-places the Nubira, will be of-fered with 1.6- and 1.8-litergasoline engines and a 2.0-litercommon-rail turbodiesel.The Cruze will be built in multi-ple locations around the worldincluding St. Petersburg, Russia,Lordstown, Ohio, in the US, andin Korea.

Chevrolet Cruze

Chevrolet Volt

Cadillac

Citroen Hypnos

Citroen to debuthybrid diesel

PAGE 3

Paris auto show 2008Sponsored by

Cadillac will show the CTS stationwagon, which could help boostthe US luxury brand’s poor Euro-pean sales. Called the CTS Sport Wagon, thecar will have a 250hp, 2.9-literturbocharged V-6 diesel enginein Europe. The CTS wagon will goon sale in European marketsstarting next summer. Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon

Chevrolet Orlando

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Ford will unveil three models inParis: 1. A replacement for the Ka

minicar2. The Focus RS, Ford’s fastest

European-built model 3. A fuel-efficient Fiesta.The new Ka will be unveiled 12 years after the original modelwas first shown at the same venue. The second-generation Kahas a fresh design and will be offered with a diesel engine forthe first time.Ford will not build the Ka itself.The minicar will be produced atFiat’s plant in Tychy, Poland.At 3550mm, the new Ka is 70mmshorter than the current model.The Ka shares its platform withFiat’s Panda and 500 minicars. The Ka will use Fiat’s 75hp, 1.3-liter diesel and 69hp, 1.2-litergasoline engines. Both engineshave CO2 emissions of less than120g/km.Ford’s designers have given thenew Ka a chunkier design than the

rounded look of the current mod-el. It also has Ford of Europe’s ki-netic design, already seen on theS-Max, Mondeo, Fiesta and face-lifted Focus models. Since 1996, Ford has built 1.4 mil-lion Ka models. The Ka currently isproduced in Ford’s factory in Va-lencia, Spain.Ka prices will start at €9,750 inGermany when the model goeson sale by the end of the year.Ford also will debut the Focus RS,which has a top speed of 260kph.The model uses a re-engineeredversion of the turbocharged 2.5-liter gasoline engine from the Fo-cus ST with 300hp instead of225hp.The Fiesta ECOnetic is Ford’smost fuel-efficient Fiesta. It ispowered by a 90hp, 1.6-literdiesel engine that has CO2 emis-sions of 98g/km. The car’s CO2emisisons were reduced throughmeasures such as improved aero-dynamics, longer gear ratios andtires with less rolling resistance.

Ford Ka

Ferrari California

The California will be Ferrari’sfirst convertible with a re-tractable hardtop. The two-seat California will besimilar in size to the F430 Scud-eria coupe. It has a V-8 enginelike the F430, but the Califor-nia’s 460hp, 4.3-liter engine isplaced in the front behind thewheel axle rather than the back. California sales in Europe willbegin by the end of the year. The

convertible will cost about thesame as the F430, which startsat €159,900 in Italy.The California will be the firstFerrari to have a dual-clutchtransmission, which debutswith seven speeds and a gaso-line direct-injection engine.Both technologies help to re-duce the California’s CO2 emis-sions to 310g/km from420g/km on the F430.

Fiat will unveil its newgreen label in Paris onfuel-efficient versions ofthe 500, Bravo and Cro-ma cars.Fiat uses measures suchas stop-start, longer gearratios, lower groundclearance and low-resistancetires to improve fuel economyon the cars.CO2 emissions on the 500’s 1.2-liter gasoline version are reducedby 4g/km to 115g/km. CO2emissions on the 1.6-liter dieselBravo are cut to 115g/km from119g/km. The 120hp 1.9-literdiesel Croma’s CO2 emissions arereduced by 17g/km to 140g/km.Fiat will also unveil the FiorinoQubo, a passenger version of itsFiorino Combi car-derived deliv-

ery van. The Qubo has a more re-fined interior and sleeker lookthan the Combi.Fiat aims to sell 20,000 Qubos ayear in Europe. Its prices start at€12,800 in Italy.The Qubo is built at Fiat’s Tofasjoint venture factory in Bursa,Turkey, alongside Peugeot Bip-per and Citroen Nemo sistermodels.

Nissan’s luxury Infiniti brandwill give its FX37 high-perform-ance crossover a global debut in

Paris. Infiniti cars will go on salein France, Italy, Spain, Polandand other European markets forthe first time starting in Octo-ber. Powered by a 320hp, 3.7-liter V-6 engine, the FX37 will

cost €55,950 in France. In-finiti also will sell the G35lower-premium sedan, G37

coupe and FX50 premium SUVin Europe.

Ferrari

Infiniti

Fiat

Ford unveils Ka, fast Focusand a low-CO2 Fiesta

Ford

Ford Focus RS

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Paris auto show 2008Sponsored by

Fiat Fiorino Qubo

Infiniti FX 37

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Honda has revived the Insightname for a gasoline-electrichybrid car that willtake on the ToyotaPrius. Like the Prius, thenew Insight will bea five-door, five-passenger hatchback.A concept version will debut inParis. A production version willgo on sale in the spring.With its new Insight, Honda aimsto attract buyers who have neverconsidered a hybrid car before.Honda says the Insight will have aprice that is significantly lowerthan any other hybrid car on themarket.The Insight will have a new plat-form in which the battery andcontrol unit are located beneaththe cargo space.A gasoline engine will serve as themain power source. An electricmotor will give the engine aboost when extra power is need-ed, for example during start up,passing and acceleration.Honda expects to sell about200,000 Insights globally. Abouthalf of the Japan-built cars will be

exported to North America.The first-generation Insight wasthe first production hybrid car tobe sold in Europe when it waslaunched in 1999. It was not asales success and Honda stoppedmaking it in 2006. The second-generation Insightwill be the first of four new hybrids planned by Honda. The carmaker will build a smallhybrid sports car based on the CR-Z concept that will be shown inParis. The other new hybrids willbe a new generation of the Civichybrid sedan and a hybrid versionof the Jazz small-segment car.Also on Honda’s stand will beface-lifted versions of Civic hybridand Jazz models, and the FCXClarity fuel cell car.

Kia is targeting the Soul atyoung buyers who live in citiesor metropolitan areas.The carmaker describes the five-door Soul as an “urbancrossover.”Paul Philpott, head of Kia’s UKoperations, said the Soul’s chic

design and roomy interior willappeal to “active people withbusy lives.”The Soul will go on sale in Eu-rope next February with a choiceof 126hp diesel or gasoline en-gines based on the engines al-ready fitted to Kia’s Cee’d lower-medium car.The Soul will be produced in

Kia’s factory in Gwangju,South Korea.The model was first

shown as a conceptat the Detroit autoshow in 2006. Three

more concepts ap-peared at the Geneva

auto show in March.

Lamborghini plans to launch afour-door car to competeagainst the forthcoming AstonMartin Rapide, Porsche Panam-era and Audi A7. Lamborghini wants to build acoupe-styled, four-door modelto appeal to a broader range ofluxury sports car buyers. The sports car maker will unveila near-production concept forthe model in Paris.

The four-door car will have itsengine in the front and willcome with four-wheel drive.Lamborghini’s V-10 Gallardocoupe and the V-12 Murcielagoroadster have rear engines.Lamborghini sources said thefour-door car could be an all-aluminum vehicle based on theplatform of the next Audi A8.Volkswagen group’s Audi ownsLamborghini.

Land Rover will show its Free-lander SUV with a stop-startsystem. The fuel-saving tech-nology will be standard on all

diesel Freelanders with manualtransmissions and will cut CO2emissions to less than 180g/kmfrom 194g/km.

Kia

Lamborghini

Land Rover

Lexus

Hyundai will unveil its new i20small car as well as a number offuel-efficient technologies.The five-door i20 hatchback will replace the Korean automaker’s 6-year-old Getz when it goes onsale in European markets in Decem-ber. Designed at Hyundai’s Euro-pean design center in Rüsselsheim,the i20 will be built in India.The i20 will have a longer wheel-base and roomier interior thanthe Getz. Hyundai said the i20 hasa more dynamic design that thecar it replaces.A fuel-efficient version of the i20also will be shown. It will use a1.4-liter diesel engine that hasCO2 emissions of 99g/km.Hyundai also will display a gaso-line-electric hybrid car based onits Santa Fe large SUV.The hybrid is powered by a 2.4-liter gasoline engine and a

30-kilowatt electric motor. ItsCO2 emissions are 148g/km.The seven-seat iX55 SUV will alsomake its debut. Based on the Ve-racruz already on sale in the US,the ix55 has been re-styled andre-tuned to match European re-quirements and driving styles. Hyundai also will show its newGenesis sedan and Genesis Coupeconcept. The rear-wheel-drive Genesis willbe the carmaker’s flagship car, butwill not be sold in Europe.

Hyundai

Kia Soul

Honda

Insight is first of four new Honda hybrids

Hyundai’s i20 willbe a bigger Getz

Honda Insight

Hyundai i20

Lexus will unveil a convertibleversion of its IS lower-premi-um sedan. Called the IS 250 C,the car will be the first four-seat convertible from Lexus,Toyota’s luxury brand. Currently Lexus only sells a2+2-seat convertible called the SC430. Lexus also will unveil a face-liftfor its IS sedan in Paris. The ISis the brand’s best-sellingmodel in Europe with 11,241

units sold in the first eightmonths, down nearly 22 per-cent from the year before. The revamped IS includesrefreshed interior and exteriorstyling, and modifications tothe suspension, steering andpaddle-shift technology.Lexus will also show the LF-Xh hybrid concept in Parisand the permanent four-wheel-drive version of itsflagship LS46.

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Paris auto show 2008Sponsored by

Finding your way around the

Ha

Hall 4

Hall 7.1

Hall 5.2

Hall5.1

Hall8

Hall 5.2: Opel, Chevrolet, Saab, Kia andBrilliance will have displays here

Hall 5.1: Subaru, Lotus, Tesla are among exhibitors in this hall

Hall 4: Volkswagen, Toyota can be found here

Hall 8: Special exhibition:“Taxis of the world”

AN_080903_supp_6-7.qxd 9/22/08 12:44 PM Page 6

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Paris auto show 2008Sponsored by

show

Hall 1

Hall 2.2

all 3

Hall 2.12.3

Hall 7.1: Sport and leisure vehicles,all wheel driveand second-hand cars

Hall 2.2/2.3: Finance/insurance,alternative powertrains,press center

Hall 2.1: Electronics, navigation systems, light commercial vehicles

Hall 1: The Paris auto show’s biggest hall withnearly 40 exhibitors, including Renault, Peugeot, Citroen, Ford, Mercedes and BMW

Hall 3: Asian carmakers includingHonda and Hyundai. Also supplier stands and ChinaAutomobile France

AN_080903_supp_6-7.qxd 9/22/08 12:44 PM Page 7

Peugeot will show the Prologuediesel-electric and RC gasoline-electric hybrid concept cars.The five-door Prologue isa near-production con-cept for an SUV-styledcrossover that will com-pete against modelssuch as the NissanQashqai when it goes onsale starting in April 2009.The RC previews a four-door carthat Peugeot is consideringlaunching to replace the slow-selling 407 coupe. It would com-pete against cars such as Volks-wagen’s Passat CC. The Prologue is powered by adiesel-electric hybrid powertrainthat emits 109g/km of CO2. Running only in electric mode,the Prologue has zero emissions.The concept is based on the sameplatform as the Peugeot 308 lower-medium car.

A production version of the Pro-logue will be shown at the Gene-va auto show in March 2009. Thecar will likely be called the 3008.The RC concept’s full name will berevealed at the Paris show. The four-door, four-seat concepthas a gasoline-electric powertrainthat emits 109g/km of CO2 whenrunning on gasoline. In electric mode, its CO2 emis-sions are zero.

Peugeot RC

Peugeot Prologue

Peugeot showcaseshybrid concepts

Crossover previewsfirst awd Mini

Mazda

Peugeot

Mini

Mazda’s Kiyora concept will giveclues to the Japanese carmaker’snew city car that could be labeled the Mazda1.Neil Warrior, spokesman for Maz-da Europe, said: “This is a first lookat our sub-b segment concept.”If the Kiyora goes into produc-tion, the car would competewith the Toyota iQ, Nissan Pixoand Suzuki Alto minicars thatwill also be shown in Paris.The concept has bold, futuristicstyling and is powered by a four-cylinder gasoline direct-injec-tion engine. It has a stop-startsystem, which improves fuel

economy and reduces CO2emissions.The Kiyora was styled in Mazda’sEuropean design center inOberursel, near Frankfurt.Kiyora means clean and pure inJapanese. Warrior said no namehad been decided for a potentialproduction version.Mazda will also show a face-lift-ed version of the Mazda MX-5roadster and its Mazda6 upper-medium car equipped with anew 2.2-liter turbochargeddiesel engine. There will also bea version of the Mazda2 with a1.6-liter diesel engine.

Mazda Kiyora

The Fascination design studyfrom Mercedes-Benz shows thefront-end styling for the next E-class, which is due in 2010.The concept also previews an E-class coupe that will replacethe CLK class. The coupe will ex-pand the E-class range to threeby adding another variant to thesedan and station wagon mod-els that are already on sale.The two-door, four-seat Fasci-nation has a shooting-brake

body style that combines the sleek looks of a coupe withthe extended rear of a stationwagon.The 4810mm-long concept ispowered by a new, fuel-efficientBluetec diesel engine. Mercedessays the 204hp, 2.2-liter enginehas the same power output asits current 3.0-liter CDI dieselpowerplant. The engine uses7.2 liters of diesel per 100kmand will go into the new E-class.

Mercedes-Benz

Mini’s Crossover Concept hints at the BMW-owned brand’splanned sports activity vehicle.The SUV-styled car will be thefirst Mini to have all-wheel drive.It is also the first Mini to meas-ure more than 4000mm inlength and the first Mini withfour passenger doors.The production version is due in2010 and could be called theCrossman. Contract manufactur-er Magna Steyr will build the car.The concept’s high ground clear-ance and black rocker panels andwheelarch moldings give it arugged look.The concept has three conven-tional doors and a rear slidingdoor on the driver’s side.The car’s one-piece tailgateopens sideways to make it easier

to load items such as skis, snow-boards and surfboards. Inside the concept a small globehouses the car’s dashboard com-munications, navigation and en-tertainment functions. The concept’s exterior design fea-tures a grille and headlights withexaggerated proportions.

Mini Crossover Concept

Mercedes-Benz Fascination

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Renault’s Paris stars will be theproduction version of its keyMegane car and the futuristic Ondelios diesel hybrid concept.The five-door Megane launchesacross Europe immediately afterthe Paris show.The latest Megane features a clas-sic design that is unlikely to sparkthe same debate that followedthe arrival of the more quirky cur-rent Megane in 2002.The Megane family is crucial toRenault’s performance. The car-maker sold 651,000 Meganes lastyear, which is about one-third ofthe brand’s worldwide sales.Renault has invested €1.8 billionin the design and engineering ofsix new Megane body types.After the hatchback, the carmak-er will quickly launch station wag-on, coupe, and convertible ver-sions of the new Megane.Filling out the model line will benew five- and seven-seat versionsof the Megane-based Scenicmedium minivan, which are duein 2009.The Ondelios concept shows theFrench carmaker’s vision for alarge SUV-styled crossover vehi-cle with fuel-saving technology.The concept is powered by a205hp 2.0-liter diesel engine,

with two electric motors on thefront and rear wheels. Each motordelivers 20 kilowatts.The electricmotors boost acceleration andadd rear-wheel drive when loss oftraction is detected by the stabil-ity control system. Brake-energy regeneration and a4kW lithium-ion battery are oth-er elements of the system.Weighing 1452kg, the Ondeliosuses 4.5 liters of fuel per 100 kilo-meters and emits 120g/km of CO2.The Ondelios seats six people, inthree rows of two. It featuresroof-hinged doors that swing up-ward for easy access, as seen onthe Renault Megane coupe con-cept, which debuted at the Gene-va auto show in March. Renault does not mention anyproduction plans for the conceptbut the company will continue todevelop its hybrid system.Renault also will show a produc-tion version of its new Lagunacoupe, which was first shown as a concept at the 2007 IAA inFrankfurt. The car will be the first in the La-guna range to be offered with Re-nault’s new V-6 diesel engine.The Laguna coupe will go on saleshortly after the show with pricesstarting at €31,900 in France.

Renault to debutMegane and hybrid

Nissan

Opel

Renault

Opel will debut the station wag-on version of its new Insigniaupper-medium car. Called theSports Tourer, the wagon will goon sale in Europe in the spring,

four months after the Novem-ber sales launch of the sedan andhatchback variants. The Insignia model range re-places Opel’s Vectra/Signummodels in Europe. At 4910mm,the wagon is 80mm longer thanthe sedan and hatchback but hasthe same wheelbase (2737mm). An EcoFLEX Sports Tourer withlow fuel consumption also willdebut in Paris.Opel Insignia wagon

Mitsubishi

Renault Ondelios

Renault Megane

Mitsubishi will unveil a hatch-back version of its new Lancerlower-medium car and a face-lift for its Colt small car. Mitsubishi expects the five-doorLancer Sportback to account for70 percent of Lancer sales in Eu-rope. The Lancer four-doorsedan was launched in Europe at

the end of last year.The LancerSportback will go on sale shortlyafter the Paris show.At 4585mm, the Lancer hatch-back is 15mm longer than thesedan. Both versions have Mit-subishi’s new sportier designwith an aggressive-lookingfront end.

Mitsubishi LancerSportback

Nissan will unveil its new Pixoproduction minicar alongsidethe Nuvu concept for an electricminicar.The Pixo five-door hatchbackwill be Nissan’s new entry-levelcar in Europe. Nissan will add thecar to meet the growing de-mand for fuel-efficient, low-priced minicars. The Pixo will be positioned below the Micra, the smallest car that Nissan currently sells inEurope.Powered by a three-cylinder1.0-liter gasoline engine, thePixo will be built by Suzuki in

Delhi, India, alongside Suzuki’snew Alto minicar. The 3565mmlong Pixo will go on sale startingin the spring.The Nuvu is Nissan’s vision for acar that city dwellers will be driv-ing by about 2015.The concept contains some ofthe technology that will featurein a production-ready electricmodel that Nissan says it willunveil at the 2009 Tokyo autoshow and launch in showroomsin Japan and North America in2010.Nissan says the Nuvu’s size – at3000mm long, 1700mm talland 1550mm wide – gives thecar a large and airy cabin andenough space for a supermarket

shopping trip.The concept has two regu-lar seats and a fold-downthird seat.Nissan also will show aface-lifted version of its

Note small minivan. Nissan Pixo

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Toyota Avensis

Toyota Urban Cruiser

Three new Toyotas will debut inParis: the Avensis, iQ and Ur-ban Cruiser.The carmaker hasgiven the third-generation Aven-sis, its Europeanflagship model,a sleeker, moredynamic designthat resembles theIS and GS from sister brand Lexus. The new Avensis is based on astretched version of the ToyotaAuris lower-medium car.The Avensis and Auris are built inToyota’s factory in Burnaston,England.The Avensis will go on sale duringthe first quarter of 2009. Last year, Toyota sold 106,886Avensis cars in Europe, down11.5 percent from 2006, accord-ing to a market researchers JATODynamics.Toyota says its iQ minicar will be

the smallest four-seat car on themarket at just less than 2985mmlong. Its CO2 emissions start at99g/km. It will go on sale in De-cember priced at about €13,000.The rugged-looking Urban Cruis-er will be shown with all-wheeldrive and a 1.4-liter diesel engine.Its CO2 emissions are 133g/km.The Yaris-based SUV will be posi-tioned below the RAV4 mediumSUV. The Urban Cruiser will go onsale in early 2009.

Toyota iQ

Toyota

SsangYong

SsangYong says the C200 con-cept is a step toward strength-ening the Korean automaker’slineup. SsangYong calls the C200 an“urban compact SUV.” The four-wheel-drive C200 is the brand’s

first model to have a unibodyconstruction, rather than abody-on-frame chassis. The C200 is powered by a 175hp 2.0-liter diesel enginemated to a six-speed automatictransmission.

Seat will unveil the Exeo, whichwill be the Spanish brand’s rivalto the Ford Mondeo, RenaultLaguna and Peugeot 407. TheExeo will go on sale early nextyear.Based on an Audi A4 platform,the Exeo will be built in Seat’sfactory in Martorell, near

Barcelona. The car’s namecomes from the Latin wordexire, which means to go be-yond or to go further in English. The Exeo will have sedan andstation wagon versions. It will be Seat’s top-range car, positioned above the brand’sToledo lower-medium car.

Seat

Seat Exeo

SsangYong C200

Subaru

Subaru will display two electriccars in Paris. It will also unveil itsForester SUV and Imprezahatchback with the carmaker’snew 2.0-liter four-cylinderdiesel engine. The diesel already is offered inthe Outback and Legacy range.The Forester diesel has CO2emissions of 167g/km.Also on display will be the R1e

electric minicar that Subaruplans to launch in 2010. The R1euses a lithium-ion battery thatcan be recharged to 80 percentcapacity in 15 minutes using aspecial rapid charger. Currently,40 cars are being tested inTokyo. Subaru will also show itsG4e four-door hatchback con-cept, which has a range of200km using electric power.

New Avensis and city carsare Toyota’s Paris debuts

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Volkswagen Golf

Volkswagen will debut the sixthgeneration of Europe’s best-sell-ing car, the Golf, in Paris.The Golf is sold in 180 markets.Last year, VW sold 763,491 Golfsglobally including 548,942 unitsin Europe, according to marketresearcher JATO Dynamics.The success of the Golf is key toCEO Martin Winterkorn’s ambi-tious profitability and unit salestargets for VW group.Winterkorn aims to sell 6.6 millionVW brand cars by 2018 and hewants VW to be one of the mostprofitable carmakers with a returnon investment of 21 percent.VW has taken a number of meas-ures to make the Golf more prof-itable. These include cutting thetime it takes to build the model.By the end of the year, VW expectsthe Golf’s production cycle at itsWolfsburg factory to be 20.6hours. In 2003, VW workers need-ed 40 hours to produce a Golf.VW has also reduced productioncomplexity by simplifying andstandardizing components andreducing the number of engineoptions. In the new Golf, thedoors are built as one piece in-

stead of in two parts. The new Golf has just six engineoptions, down from 20 in the cur-rent model.The new Golf uses the same plat-form as the current model but 60percent of its components arenew, including the doors andmany interior parts.For the new Golf, VW has a dual-pricing strategy in Europe.To keep the car competitiveagainst established lower-medi-um rivals such as the Opel/Vaux-hall Astra and new entries such asthe Kia Cee’d, VW will offer an en-try-level model priced at €16,500in Germany. That is just €200more than the current car.But VW also aims to make moneyby broadening the number ofhigh-margin optional extras thatcustomers can order. The Golf willoffer adaptive cruise control for€1,100; adaptive chassis controlfor €1,000; and a parking assistsystem for €700.VW also will show a GTI version ofthe new Golf with 210hp. TheGolf GTI will go on sale in the mid-dle of next year priced at €26,400in Germany.

Volvo will launch fuel-efficientversions of its C30, S40 and V50cars. All three versions havebeen tweaked to cut their CO2emissions to less than 120g/km.Changes include a modified 1.6-liter diesel engine, longer gear

ratios, improved aerodynamicsand tires with low roll resistance.The cars will be sold under theDRIVe badge. The C30 1.6 DRI-Ve has CO2 emissions 115g/km.Emissions of the S40 and V50DRIVe cars are 118g/km.

Suzuki

Volvo

Volkswagen

Suzuki’s new Alto will debut inParis. The minicar will be built inthe carmaker’s factory in Indiaalongside a Nissan versioncalled the Pixo.The five-door Alto will go onsale in Europe in December.The car will have a Euro 5-com-pliant 65hp, 1.0-liter gasoline

engine with CO2 emissions low-er than 109g/km. Suzuki will also display its twohydrogen fuel-cell models inParis. The SX4-FCV, whichuses a fuel cell stack from Gen-eral Motors, and the Crosscagefuel-cell powered electric mo-torcycle.

VW Golf will be key tomeeting growth targets

Suzuki Alto

Volkswagen Golf GTI

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