By Santanu Choudhury
NEW DELHI-- Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.'s Ssangyong Motor Co.
unit on Tuesday released its first new vehicle--a compact
SUV--since the Indian company took a 70% stake in the South Korean
auto maker about four years ago.
The Tivoli compact sport-utility vehicle, named after a resort
city in Italy, has a 1.6-liter gasoline engine, Ssangyong and
Mahindra said in a statement. The vehicle will cost about $15,000
to $21,800, depending on the model.
Ssangyong plans to sell up to 100,000 of the new SUVs each
year--about 40,000 of them in South Korea and the rest in export
markets.
The Tivoli, the first compact SUV from Ssangyong, is expected to
compete with vehicles such as General Motors Co.'s Buick Encore and
Chevrolet Trax, and Renault Samsung Motors' QM3 crossovers.
The new vehicle would be part of SsangYong's Korando C SUV model
lineup, which has a 2-liter diesel engine. Ssangyong also plans to
launch a diesel-powered Tivoli model in the second half of the year
as part of its plans to strengthen its position in the Korean SUV
market.
The statement didn't mention any plans to sell the Tivoli model
in India, where SUV sales by companies such as Ford Motor Co.,
Renault S.A. and Mahindra have been thriving in recent years.
Mahindra is the largest producer of SUVs in India.
Pawan Goenka, executive director of Mahindra and SsangYong's
chairman, called the Tivoli launch a "significant milestone."
Since it was established in 1954, Ssangyong has changed hands
several times. China's Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. owned the
company until its current Indian owner took over in 2010.
Write to Santanu Choudhury at santanu.choudhury@wsj.com
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