Chinese Citroen C5 Released

Citroen finally launched the C5 model in China, a model whose production will be handled by Dongfeng - Citroen, the joint venture belonging to the French carmaker. As a result, Peugeot is also considering launching the 408 in China as well, with some voices familiar with the matter claiming that we're getting closer to the official launch date.

China Car Times writes that the C5 will be priced between 200,000rmb and 300,000rmb ($29,295 and $43,950) and will be offered with a choice of three engine configurations, namely 2.0-, 2.3- and 3.0-liter V6.

Separately, Citroen recently launched two new engines for the C5 range. A brand new 1.6-liter 16V unit co-developed with BMW and producing 155 hp will take the place of the 2.0i 16V 143hp option. Additionally, the new 2.0HDi 16V 160hp diesel replaces the 2.0HDi 16V 140hp and the 2.2HDi 16V 173hp engines and can be mated to a 6-speed manual or automatic gearbox.

Citroen, and more specifically, the PSA Group, tries to take advantage of the growing demand in China and, if we are to trust the recent rumors, the alliance is now willing to establish a new 1.6 sqm facility that would handle production of several models, including a minicar.

"I've not heard about that," Alexis Varnier, spokesman for PSA in China, said in April. "This was something that (former CEO Christian Streiff) may have spoken about, as part of discussions on potential strategy when he took over in 2007, but those were entirely different circumstances than the ones we face today," a different spokesman in Paris added when asked about such a project.