Chronicle Editor
AS part of its goal of providing best quality and latest car brands, Dulys Motors will soon be availing a new baby on the market, KOLEOS, which is Renault’s first D-segment SUV.
The vehicle brand will be available in more than 80 countries across all the continents, drawing on the expertise of the Renault-Nissan Alliance in the SUV segment.
In 2015, Groupe Renault sold more than 2, 8 million vehicles in over 125 countries, 43 percent of which were outside Europe.
And demonstrating Renault’s geographic and product diversification, the new KOLEOS will contribute to the group’s development by extending its product range and boosting its international footprint.
The new KOLEOS will be one of the most geographically distributed Renault models assembled at two plants – Busan in South Korea for all markets except China, plus Wuhan for the Chinese market.
Both facilities meet Renault’s stringent manufacturing quality standards and currently produce vehicles built on the CMF-C/D architecture for brands belonging to Groupe Renault and its partner, Nissan.
Tried-and-tested vehicle architecture and power trains tailored to meet market requirements.
The new KOLEOS is built on the Alliance CMF-C/D architecture that is shared by several vehicles, including the Renault Espace, Talisman and Kadjar, and Nissan’s X-Trail/Rogue and Qashqai.
The common architecture attests to the Alliance’s experience in saloon cars, crossovers and SUVs.
Vehicle parts and components that are not visible to the customer are common, while the design and identity of each brand remain distinct.
The resulting savings were reinvested in the new KOLEOS to offer enhanced features.
The car’s powertrains have also been developed within the Alliance. Depending on the market, the new KOLEOS will be available with a choice of two petrol engines with power outputs ranging from 130 to 175hp (96 to 127kW), mated to a X-Tronic automatic transmission.
A car that demonstrates Renault’s geographic and product diversification.
Renault’s first D-segment SUV, the new KOLEOS is an alternative to conventional saloon cars. The SUV market is growing fast in all parts of the world.
Nearly one in every five cars sold globally in 2015 was a crossover or an SUV.
The proportion of SUVs sold is even higher in key markets for Renault such as China, where SUVs accounted for 30 percent of total sales in 2015, an increase of 53 percent compared with 2014.
SUV buyers have different socio-demographic profiles from region to region, but they express highly similar expectations in terms of styling, comfort and cabin space.
The new KOLEOS is a car that has been designed specifically to meet this demand.
The KOLEOS crossover was added to the Renault range in 2008 and has since been sold to the tune of more than 300 000 units around the world. More than 70 percent of these sales were outside Europe. In some markets such as China, where 135 000 units of the car have been sold since 2009, the KOLEOS name enjoys real awareness. Renault is building on this brand equity for the name of its new SUV.
The KOLEOS name first appeared at the 2000 Geneva Motor Show in the form of a high-end concept car, which was an avant-garde blend between a saloon car, an MPV and a 4×4.
Sixteen years on, models such as Captur and Kadjar have joined Renault’s global portfolio and the new KOLEOS shares the same [K] sound to ensure consistency with these models.
derick.khumalo