Mitsubishi and PSA Peugeot Citroen have signed a final cooperation agreement to develop a new premium SUV for the European market.

The move will see UK retailers of the two French brands selling their first ever 4x4 in late 2007.

The seven-seater vehicle will be built by Mitsubishi in Japan, with annual production of 30,000 units for PSA.

It will use a Mitsubishi platform already in development, and be powered by either Mitsubishi’s new aluminium-block petrol engines or PSA Peugeot Citroen’s latest generation HDI diesel engines with particulate filters.

Mitsubishi’s Japanese-market SUV, the Outlander, will be launched this autumn.However, the variant destined for Europe under the Peugeot, Citroen and Mitsubishi brands won’t be unveiled until the 2007 Geneva Motor Show.

John Miskin, chairman of Citroen’s national dealer council, says: “This will give us an added bonus by entering a marketplace where Citroen has not been involved before.”

He is confident the SUV will help Citroen retain customers who have traditionally gone elsewhere for a 4x4 as well as attract conquest sales from other brands.