PSA and Mitsubishi have officially laid the first foundation stone of their €470 million joint plant in Russia, located in Kaluga, 180km south-west of Moscow. The plant, which is being built on a 200 ha plot, is expected to produce 160,000 vehicles per year from 2011. Which models? Basically, Peugeot and Citroën C-Segment cars (current models are the the 308 and the C4) but also a compact SUV/crossover which will be sold under the Peugeot, Citroën and Mitsubishi brands (currently named 4007, C-Crosser and Outlander, respectively). The cars are intended for the Russian market and not scheduled for export. PSA builds some of the most advanced diesel powertrains available, named HDI, which are also installed in Minis and Fords. Russia is also one of the main energy suppliers to the EU. Mitsubishi's full press release after the jump.

The SUV poolmobile? (click to see a high-resolution image gallery of the C-Crosser)

Ready for an official unveiling at the Geneva Motor Show, Citroën's new C-Crosser SUV is a clean-burning diesel vehicle with all the comforts of your modern SUVs. It's what's under the hood that interests us here.

The C-Crosser has a new 160 bhp (115kW or 156 bhp EEC) HDi diesel engine mated to a six-speed manual gearbox. With a diesel particulate filter, this engine has a fuel consumption of 7.3 liters over 100 km (combined cycle) and emissions of 194 g/km. The HDi engine is the result of Citroën's work with Ford, and is based on the 173 bhp HDi engine already in use in the C5 and C6. Emissions are reduced (and performance is increased) using the ECCS (Extreme Conventional Combustion System) to optimize the air/fuel mix and a third-gen common rail system for finer fuel spray.

The first announcement of the C-Crosser (which came out in October) said the vehicle would be able to run on B30, but this biodiesel-friendly notice is missing from today's press release. I know biodiesel can technically be used in any diesel engine, but companies are sometimes reluctant to officially allow biodiesel in their cars thanks to varying levels of fuel quality. Either someone made a mistake somewhere or we'll be treated to a "The C-Crosser does biodiesel" release soon. (Update - most recent the press release I have from Citroën does not mention the biodiesel feature, but the one Autoblog has matches our original reports that the C-Crosser is B30-compatible)

Click on the image above or the thumbnails below to see a high-resolution (1,280 pixel wide) image gallery of the C-Crosser. The images are downloadable for your personal use.



Related:

• Citroën's new C-Crosser SUV biodiesel ready, all the way to B30
• Diesels coming Mitsubishi's way via PSA Peugeot Citroën

[Source: Citroën]

With domestic automakers gently introducing five percent biodiesel to their vehicles, Citroën has leapt ahead and made their new SUV, the oddly named C-Crosser, ready for B30. The C-Crosser has an HDi diesel engine that will come equipped with a Diesel Particulate Filter System, reducing particle emissions to "virtually immeasurable levels". Citroën isn't talking about mpg numbers yet (the C-Crosser will be availble next summer), instead focusing on the C-Crosser's looks. I agree the SUV has an aggressive style, with chevrons on the front that blend nicely into the grill. But I care more what sits behind this grill: Citroën's new generation 156bhp 2.2HDi engine mated to a six-speed manual gearbox and capable of producing 380Nm of torque. Fill 'er up with B30 and seven people and you're ready to roll. Considering what else Citroën's has been announcing recently, is there any reason to not expect a diesel-hybrid version being announced sometime in the next year or so? I don't think so.

Read Citroën's press release and see another picture after the jump.

Related:

• Citroen introduces diesel-electric hybrid prototype

[Source: Citroën]