"The really pure 4X4s, the ones designed to climb rocks, never made much headway in Europe," executive vice president for product planning Georges Douin told Reuters in an interview.

The traditional 4X4 segment, represented by the Jeep and Range Rover, had only two or three per cent of the European market.

"The reason the segment is developing now is that there are smaller, versatile versions, which are comfortable, manageable in cities, and do not consume huge amounts of fuel," he said.

Renault planned to make a 4X4 version of its hugely popular Megane Scenic at the Douai factory in France in 2000, he said. It expected to produce about 100 a day, or 25,000-30,000 a year.

"We flirted with the idea of making a 4X4 for a long time and held discussions with manufacturers of 4X4vehicles but they never came to anything," he said.

Renault also plans to expand its offering in the larger car segments in 2000-2002 and turn its talent for design innovation to the luxury segment, dominated by the Germans.

It offered a preview this week at the Geneva car show with the Avantime concept car, a coupe/minivan hybrid with a striking panoramic glass roof.

A model derived from the Avantime will be launched in the spring of 2000. Within a two-year period, Renault would also roll out new versions of the Safrane, Laguna and trend-setting Espace minivan, Douin said.