Kyron to lead 2006 SsangYong model surge

SOUTH Korean car-maker SsangYong will forego the entry-level budget hatch path to riches as it shifts gears to become a significant player in the four-wheel drive market here in Australia.

The brand currently has just three vehicles in its line-up: the $26,990 Musso Sports, the $36,500 Rexton 4WD and the just-launched $35,990 Stavic people-mover.

Next month, though, it will launch an upgraded luxury Chairman sedan into the $55,000 prestige arena, squarely against the Ford Fairlane and Holden Statesman.

However, according to the chairman of SsangYong importer Rapson Holdings, Russell Burling, 2006 is the company's big year, when it will roll out four completely new 4WDs and a facelifted Rexton four-wheel drive.

The Korean car-maker was clearly focused on making money from profitable vehicles rather than reintroducing the brand with a budget hatch like Hyundai did when it first launched here back in the mid-1980s, Mr Burling said.

Nor does he believe that Ssangyong will need a minimum throughput of 3000 vehicle sales yearly annually to make a profit.

But he backed away from naming specific company targets, aware of the bold claims made by other importers.

"With the volumes we've had, we have been profitable basically from the beginning," he said.

"We have not had a year where we have lost money at all."Mr Burling said reintroducing the brand was very much a "step-by-step process".

"We haven't gone out and splashed out. We haven't asked dealers to build mega showrooms. Our demands on the dealers are very low compared with any of the other brands that have come here and tried. We want to do this businessprofitably."Mr Burling said that the Rapson was "not about to burn off a lot of cash to try and take market share".

Ssangyong is currently selling about 200 vehicles a month with Rexton making up about 40 per cent of sales.

Mr Burling expects to see sales of 500 a month by the end of next year and, after driving the new Kyron and other products in Korea recently, is optimistic of achieving this target.

Two of the newcomers next year will be smaller than the current Rexton - the new Kryon and the Rav4-sized production version of the XCT concept shown at the recent Seoul motor show.

The Kyron arrives next February, priced between $35,000 and $55,000, boasting such luxuries as hill-descent control and extensiv eactive and passive safety kit, among them dual airbags, ABS and 18-inch alloys.

Mr Burling sees the Kyron as a BMW X3 competitor but not at an X3 price.

"It's ride quality and performance is outstanding," he said.

Ssangyong is expected to offer three engines - a Mercedes-sourced range-topping 160kW 3.2-litre V6 petrol engine and two diesels: a new direct-injection 107kW 2.0-litre four-cylinder and 130kW 2.7-litre five-cylinder diesel.

The Kyron will be launched at the Melbourne motor show next March.

The Musso Sport utility replacement, based on the XMT concept car, will be the third vehicle to join the line-up.

The XMT is expected to offer the 2.0-litre diesel as well as full-time 4WD and drive through a four-speed automatic.

A replacement for the Korando is also on the cards.

Mr Burling said initial response to the Chairman had been good with many enquiries from fleet buyers.

At 5135mm in length, the 3.2-litre inline six-cylinder Chairman is slightly shorter than either the Fairlane or Statesman and has a shorter wheelbase of 2900mm. The Chairman is based on the successful W124 Mercedes-Benz E-class built between 1984 and 1995 and adopts much of that car's technology.

Mr Burling said Rapson was under no pressure from Korea to take the Chairman.

"There is a perception in the market that you can't sell Korean cars above $35,000 or $40,000," he said. SsangYong product was very clearly in an area above this, he said.

"So when we say we've got a car that's going to sell right on the luxury tax threshold, like the Chairman, you'd think we're nuts. But when you touch it and feel it, it is very impressive."He anticipates that Chairman will take up between five and 10 per cent of overall SsangYong volume once the new 4WDs arrive.

"We don't predicate its success on high volumes," he said. "It's a point of differentiation for us. We're not only a 4WD company.

"We don't have huge volume expectations for it but hire car companies are very keen in on it. It is the flagship for us."This year SsangYong forecasts selling 170,000 vehicles with almost half its output for export markets in Europe. The goal is to build 400,000 vehicles annually by 2010.