China's Great Wall aiming for Europe

China's Great Wall has announced that it will introduce a small hatchback called the M4 Hover in select European countries this summer.  The car will debut in Russia and in the Ukraine, but it could be sold in other nations throughout the European Union later in the production run.  

Visually, the M4 Hover mixes styling cues from the Suzuki SX4 and the Scion xD.   It boasts a tall ride height and adopts crossover-esque design bits such as plastic cladding on the rocker panels as well as on the wheel arches and roof rails.

The interior is simple and rather old-fashioned, but Great Wall promises that the five-seater hatchback will come standard with a wide array of features including four airbags, Bluetooth connectivity, a multi-function steering wheel, power windows and A/C.  Upmarket trim levels will feature leather upholstery, navigation and a rear-view camera.

The Europe-spec models will only be available with a 1.5-liter gasoline-burning engine that will send 99 horsepower to the front wheels via a five-speed manual transmission.  An automatic unit will be added later in the production run, but whether or not a diesel engine is in the works is not known.

In Russia, the M4 will carry a base price of about 549,000 rubles, which converts to roughly $17,100.  Great Wall has not disclosed how many examples it hopes to sell.

Initially, the M4 will be built in China and shipped to Europe but Great Wall plans on breaking ground on a new factory in Russia that will assemble cars for the local market.