Tivoli cruising toward overseas market

Ssangyong Motor’s workers applaud on a dock in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday, as the automaker starts its first overseas shipments of compact Tivoli SUVs. / Courtesy of Ssangyong Motor

By Park Jin-hai

Ssangyong Motor has shipped its popular compact SUV Tivoli overseas, aiming to repeat its local success abroad.

Some 2,000 Tivoli vehicles were shipped Tuesday from Pyeongtaek port to European and Latin American countries, including Belgium, the U.K. and Spain.

It is the first overseas shipment since its January launch in Seoul, and the vehicles will hit local showrooms in June.

“The Tivoli is our strategic model for the global market and the result of 40 months of research and development. It will serve as the model for the company’s mid- and long-term growth strategy,” said CEO Choi Johng-sik.

Ssangyong held a ceremonymarking the model’s first shipment from Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.

The Tivoli represents a fresh start for the carmaker, which almost reached the point of liquidation. Buoyed by its fashionable design that caters to the tastes of young people, more than 8,000 people preordered the car within a month of the launch.

Mated with a 1.6-liter gasoline engine, the compact SUV sold 2,312 units in January and 2,898 in February. Ssangyong said it hopes to sell 38,000 vehicles globally this year, adding it has potential to sell 100,000.

Ssangyong showcased the Tivoli at a Geneva motor show earlier in March as part of preparations for its overseas shipments.

Through the successful global launch, the automaker will work to diversify its export markets as well, which have so far been focused primarily on Russia and Latin America.

The company aims to export 25,000 units of the Tivoli, including 13,500 bound for the European market.

“By strengthening product competitiveness and brand image, we aim to become a world-class automaker specialized in sports utility vehicles,” Choi said.

Ssangyong Motor last year sold 141,047 vehicles, down 3.2 percent due to a fall in orders in the Russian market incurred by the crumbling ruble. However, its domestic sales grew to 69,036, up 8 percent from 63,970 a year earlier, while its exports shrank 11.8 percent to 72,011 during the same period.

The company said through the efforts of diversifying overseas markets, its exports to China and Europe increased by 93.4 percent and 29.9 percent in 2014 year-on-year.