The news this week is that SsangYong, a 70% owned subsidiary
of our Indian auto giant, is recruiting 300 new sales personnel for its Korean
dealerships after recent sales upsurge. This is the first time the company
recruits staffs in large numbers since 2009 when it was was put into
receivership and auctioned. It also plans to increase dealership showrooms from
existing 180 to 200 by the end of this year, to meet the rising new demands for
its products.
This recent bloom is solely attributed to the success of Tivoli compact
SUV, which was launched early this year in Korea and got global premiere at the
2015 Geneva Motor Show early this month. Korea Herald reports that a total
9,500 orders were received for the car in the first one month, which is more
than one-quarter of the company’s target of 38,500 units in the first year. The
car is already running on a considerable waiting period.
Tivoli is the first car designed under the leadership of
Mahindra & Mahindra Limited, which acquired the company in 2011. The
project costs $310 million for the development, and is significant to the
company's long-term strategy. One could realise its importance when Pawan
Goenka, the Chairman of SsangYong, says “Tivoli is to SsangYong was Scorpio was
to M&M at the time of its launch". Tivoli is going be a key
catalyst in scaling up the company’s annual volumes to at least 2.5 lakh units
to expand their reach in their markets and generate investments for future
products.
SsangYong Tivoli, named after the lovely Italian town of
Tivoli, in Rome, is certainly a leap forward in terms of SsangYong's standards,
the company often accused of making some of the ugliest cars of the planet! In
a sense, the Tivoli appears like borrowing visual elements three cars that are
sold in Korea - Chevy Trax, Mitsubishi Outlander, and Kia Soul. I particularly
like the black-and-red scheme of the showcar pictured below, with its blackened
pillars and chunky alloys.
At present, the new baby SUV is offered with a 1.6-liter
petrol drivetrain producing 126 horsepower. The diesel version with a 1.6l
motor is expected by June this year. As of now, the Tivoli sold only in South
Korea, while it will be available in the European markets by May this year. An
all-wheel drive version is announced to reach showrooms in July. There is
hardly any plans for Mahindra to bring this crossover to India, but this
development will impact the new Mahindra cars currently under development.
Korean Industry sources predict that the SsangYong Tivoli’s
market prospective is to grow better, as the domestic SUV market is blooming in
the past couple of years. SsangYong, with its formidable name to reckon with in
MUVs and SUVs two decades ago before it began stumbling with series of
ownership changes, is trying to come back on track by making its products
modern and well, competitive. Just few days back news reports hinted at a new
SUV lineup and a possible SUV from the company's only sedan Chairman.
So yeah, here is an another instance to prove the efficacy
of Indian ownership after Tata Motors gave a new life to Jaguar-Land Rover
(JLR). This union of Mahindra and SsangYong is awe-inspiring, a kind of
"made-for-each-other". Not because both the companies made horrible
MUVs in the past, but their obsession with MUV-SUV kind of products gives new
opportunities for both of the developing companies to go further.
Photo credit: AutoBlog.com, Motorionline.com, Sixthgear.co.za
Photo credit: AutoBlog.com, Motorionline.com, Sixthgear.co.za
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