SsangYong Motor rolls out long-body Rexton Khan

A model poses with SsangYong Motor's Rexton Sports Khan during a media event in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, Thursday. / Courtesy of SsangYong Motor

Sacked workers return to manufacture pickup truck

By Nam Hyun-woo

SsangYong Motor on Thursday released the Rexton Sports Khan pickup truck, which is a long-bodied version of its hit SUV, Rexton Sports.

The launch bears extra meaning for the SUV specialist, as the model's production helped sacked SsangYong workers to return to work nearly 10 years after the company's 2009 layoffs.

“After the 2000s, SUVs in Korea have lost their masculinity and toughness,” a SsangYong Motor official said. “With the launch of the Rexton Sports Khan, we would like to provide the true value of SUVs to consumers.”

The Rexton Sports Khan is the latest variation of the Rexton Sports, which retailed more than 42,000 in Korea last year. This helped SsangYong Motor to sell 143,309 vehicles last year, setting a new high for the first time since 2003.

The new model is 31 centimeters longer with a 5.4 meter-long body. The height and wheelbase increased by 1.5 centimeters and 11 centimeters, respectively.

The Khan is highlighted by an increased load capacity of 1,262 liters, which is up 24.8 percent from the Rexton Sports. This enables the Khan's high trim model to carry up to 700 kilograms on its deck, up 75 percent from the Rexton Sports' 400 kilograms. The low-trim model can carry up to 500 kilograms.

Shouldering the increased load is the power leaf suspension and a quad frame with extra-strong Giga Steel by POSCO, which is lighter but stronger than conventional steel plates.

Several improvements were also made to the Khan's powertrain. Its e-SDi220 LET engine provides a 42.8 kilogram per meter torque, which is up 2 kilograms per meter from the Rexton Sports. The engine is coupled with a six-speed transmission from Japan's Aisin AW.

The Khan's price starts from 28.38 million won and goes up to 33.67 million won, depending on their trims.

SsangYong on Dec. 31 reinstated 71 employees who were among 2,600 SsangYong Motor workers fired in 2009. Most of them left the company in voluntary resignation or took unpaid leave, but 165 resisted the layoff plan and got sacked.

Upon reinstating them, SsangYong Motor said it needs more employees to cope with the production of the Khan and the C300, a new model that will debut later this year.