Upgraded Tivoli has new look, roomy interior

An upgraded SsangYong Motor Tivoli is displayed at a media event at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Jung District, central Seoul, on Tuesday. [SSANGYONG MOTOR]

SsangYong Motor launched an upgraded Tivoli on Tuesday in an attempt to stand out in the highly competitive domestic SUV market.

The new Tivoli comes with either a 1.5-liter gasoline engine or a 1.6-liter diesel engine. The new compact SUV also comes with a six-speed automatic transmission.

“The Tivoli is a signature vehicle for SsangYong Motor, and we believe the new version we are showing you today can be another big hit for us,” said Cho Hyun-jeong, a spokesperson for the automaker, when presenting the new Tivoli at a media event Tuesday at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Jung District, central Seoul.

“We expect the ‘Very New Tivoli’ to help us gain a bigger part of the local compact SUV market and again stand as a leader,” he said.

According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association, Korea’s SUV market has grown around 15 percent from 448,000 units in 2015 to 517,000 units last year. During the same period, the compact SUV market skyrocketed 87 percent from 82,000 units to 153,000 units.

Sales of SsangYong Motor's compact SUVs including Tivolis, which were first released in 2015, jumped from 29,000 in 2014 to 153,000 in 2018, the company added.

“We have always driven the country’s compact SUV market, and we are going to keep doing so with the new Tivoli,” Cho added.

The upgraded Tivoli comes with additional safety features and upgraded digital systems on top of an expanded interior.

Thanks to strong exports, SsangYong Motor sold 59,902 vehicles in the first five months of this year, up 9.8 percent from 54,532 units from the same period a year ago.

SsangYong Motor is a subsidiary of India-based Mahindra & Mahindra, which owns a 72.85 percent stake of the local automaker.

The company started taking orders for the face-lifted Tivoli starting May 20 and is offering five different trims.

The base trim starts at 16.78 million won ($14,170), and the highest trim is offered at 23.55 million won.

BY KO JUN-TAE [ko.juntae@joongang.co.kr]