SsangYong Tivoli wanted for Australian market

SSANGYONG has given the world a glimpse of its forthcoming Tivoli small-sized SUV that looks set to launch in Australia late next year to tackle the ever-growing B-segment crossover market.

Speaking to GoAuto, SsangYong importer Ateco Automotive Asian brands spokesperson Daniel Cotterill was very optimistic about seeing the new Korean-built SUV on Australian roads.

“It's not confirmed, but it's certainly something that we, an independent importer and distributor, are looking at closely,” he said. “And so far our consideration has been quite favourable.”

The new Tivoli is the first car to embrace SsangYong's new design language – clearly an evolutionary design of its numerous SUV concepts – with what the Korean car-maker is calling “the look of a dynamic, urban SUV with a modern silhouette”.

The interior also promises to connect easily to media devices, as well as being stylish, modern, ergonomic and practical with heaps of storage.

Based on the XIV Adventure and XIV Air concepts seen at this year's Paris motor show, the little crossover offers the choice of a 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol or diesel engine, but local specifications are yet to be revealed.

When pressed on the matter, Mr Cotterill said that Ateco would need to assess the range SsangYong is offering before deciding on variants that “makes sense for our market.”“If it goes ahead it would be late third quarter 2015 or early fourth (quarter),” Mr Cotterill said. “Price and specification are obviously yet to be determined.”

Other cars in the same segment include the current market leading Hyundai ix35, the Subaru XV, Holden Trax and next year will also see the introduction of the Mazda CX-3, Renault Captur and Honda HR-V.

Total sales of the SsangYong brand have been on the decline this year, with 1089 total vehicles shifted to the end of October, a slip of 15.3 per cent from the 1285 vehicles sold over the same period last year.

The SsangYong Tivoli will go on sale in South Korea in January next year and will hit the United Kingdom from mid-2015.