The Korean brand SsangYong is about to take on the big players like Land Rover and they are about to do it with a new seven seater SUV.
The new model was confirmed recently and when it is out, the SUV will compete directly against the most popular Discovery Sport from Land Rover, Kia Sorrento, Hyundai Santa Fe among every other car in the segment. The seven seater model is about to be launched before the end of 2020 and it’s such a long term plan that SsangYong has.
Speaking to a leading automobile magazine, Johng sik Choi, CEO of the brand said, “We are working on a brand new platform named the D-segment global monocoque. On top of it, the D-SUV and the D-MPV cars will be built for the next few years.”
At the moment, the automobile manufacturer has two different brands that is being used in their Tivoli and Rexton models. The first one is a monocoque design while the latter used for large SUVs is a ladder frame platform. They also launched the next generation LIV-2 concept model at the Paris auto show this year. It was also our first glimpse at the Rexton SUV.
“The new cars, especially the SUVs are being designed from the ground up as rugged off-road models. The frame type should suit the car that we build and our specialization lies in creating cars that are capable of withstanding tough environments. They shouldn’t give up. Our heritage spans over 65 years and the body frame, chassis used in the brand’s models are always known for their ruggedness. The new generation SUVs will stay true to the tradition,” said Choi.
The brand is planning to increase overall production numbers so that they could cater to existing customers and also create new market in other regions. SsangYong will produce more than 500,000 units in the future. Majority of the technology features will be from in-house while some of them will be borrowed from Mahindra, LG U+ which is part of LG and helps the company build futuristic add-ons.
While there is still a long way to go, the brand’s top heads are interested in creating hybrids, electric cars and possibly autonomous technology. All these features might be released in 2020 or maybe even after that but they are crucial for the company to pose itself as one of the top brands in the industry where everyone else is keen on bringing EVs to stores.