SsangYong Working on Two New Cars

SsangYong is about to enter a rebirth process that will see the company being taken over by Mahindra and Mahindra and enter a new era that will bring fresh models to the market.

The company is preparing to launch two new cars that will compete in the B and D segments of the market, as autocar reports.

“We want to be working at maximum output, which is producing 250,000 cars globally per year – the new Korando should account for 100,000 of those. To do that we intend to enter growing markets such as Russia, China and South America, and we will expand our model range with cars built on our new monocoque platform,” Ssang Yong Vice president of marketing, Johng-Sik Choi was quoted as saying by the aforementioned source.

The new platform, which will be the first monocoque chassis produced by the company, will underpin the Korando compact SUV. The chassis will also be used for the future B- and D- segment models.

The B-Segment car will come to the market in 2012. It will be powered by a small-capacity petrol engine. However, the vehicle might also receive a hybrid powertrain, similar to that used by the Chevy Volt. This is expected to be offered in 2014.

As for the D-Segment vehicle, this will use a modified version of the current common-rail diesel unit that can be found in the Korando.

SsangYong will also refresh the Rodius and Kyron models in its range and kill the Rexton model in the future.