The collaboration that Renault has with Chinese Geely goes further than just engines. Behind the headlights, the new Gran Koleos is just a Volvo.
It might not be easy to see. But the new Renault Gran Koleos is Chinese.
Or at least as Chinese as it can get when the car is the result of a collaboration with Volvo's owner Geely in South Korea.
For the same reason, the new Gran Koleos does not have much in common with the old one, which was built on a platform that Renault shares with Nissan.
The main thing is that the new Frenchman is built on the same technology as the Volvo XC40, C40 and Polestar 2. That is, apart from the engine. It runs on petrol and is the provisional fruit of Renault-Geely's engine factory 'Horse'.
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The Franco-Chinese collaboration is planned to build five million internal combustion engines per year. And it's not just for themselves. Nissan and Mitsubishi are among the other buyers.
The new engine manufacturer will have 17 engine factories – among others in China and Spain – and five development centers on three continents.
There will be enough work for the car brands to employ 19,000 people. Therefore, Horse has also received an investment from the state-owned oil company in Saudi Arabia, Aramco.
Back in the new Renault, this means that the Gran Koleos is initially supplied with a two-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine with 211 horsepower. It's all connected to a seven-speed automatic transmission. Later, there will be a version with four-wheel drive and eight steps in the gearbox, as well as a hybrid model.
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