Mahindra could bring the SsangYong Tivoli to the Indian market and position it as a crossover against the Renault Duster, Nissan Terrano with power coming from the newly developed 1.5-litre diesel engine.
Set to go on sale this June in its home market South Korea, Mahindra is considering the launch of the SsangYong Tivoli in India positioned as a value for money crossover. If brought in India, the Korean compact SUV will be competing against the Renault Duster, Nissan Terrano, Ford EcoSport and the upcoming Hyundai ix25 in the segment and will be the second SsangYong product to go on sale in the country after the Rexton. That said, Mahindra is yet to firm up its plans on bringing the Tivoli to India.
Taking cues from the XIV Adventure concept, the SsangYong Tivoli is a modern looking crossover measuring 4195 mm in length with a 2600 mm wheelbase. The crossover gets urban lines and a sporty interior targeted at young buyers. While the international version draws power from the 1.6-litre petrol and diesel engines producing 126 PS and 115 PS respectively paired to 6-speed manual and automatic transmission options; Mahindra is planning to use the 1.5-litre diesel engine on the India-spec Tivoli that is currently being tested on the U301 (sub 4-metre Bolero). Coming from the same family of engines, the 1.5-litre diesel will help the automaker keep costs in check on the urban crossover.
For the Korean market, the crossover comes loaded with a host of safety tech including 7 airbags, ABS, ESP, TPMS, LED DRLs and much more on offer. The problem though with bringing the Tivoli is the price point for Mahindra. The automaker will have to price the crossover very competitively in the country, bringing the model via the CKD route with high local content going in. The SsangYong Tivoli will be positioned as an urban crossover in the Indian market so as to not cannibalise the same with Mahindra’s very own Scorpio that does exemplary numbers at the same price point.
Source – AutocarIndia.com
