Peugeot 6008 concept to debut in Beijing next year

Peugeot Urban Crossover pictured at Auto China 2012.

It was Shanghai this year, so it’s Beijing’s turn next year. The Auto China 2014 show in April is set to welcome the Peugeot 6008 concept, a vehicle that will preview a production SUV to counter the likes of the Audi Q5 and BMW X3, reports Auto Express.

That’s right, amidst its over-capacitation, the troubled French carmaker is pushing itself upmarket for higher profit margins. Peugeot director general Maxime Picat told Auto Express that moving upmarket was a “priority” over the next few years.

The Peugeot 6008 concept will sit on the same platform as the Citroen DS Wild Rubis concept (pictured below) that was well-received at Auto Shanghai 2013. The road-going SUV shouldn’t stray far from a 4,700 mm length, a 1,950 mm width and a 2,900 mm wheelbase. What we have here, then, is probably the sister to the upcoming Citroen DSX (or DSX7?) SUV. Of course, being a DS-line car, the Citroen should be more poshly-appointed.

It could borrow bits from the 508, and styling cues from the 2008 and 308, including the boomerang-shaped LED rear lamps and swept-back headlamps, the British publication adds.

“We clearly need to be in that market,” said Picat. “The only question is whether it’s a 4×4. In Europe, 80 per cent of SUVs are 4x2s – we have the functionality of 4x4s with our HYbrid4 technology.”

The production Peugeot 6008 will launch first in China before it starts selling in Europe in 2016.

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