SsangYong is going through difficult times, but with healthy ambition one hopes to turn the tide. An especially important model for the European presence of the brand will be coming in October: the fully electric Korando e-Motion.
The South Korean SsangYong was in the news several times last year because of financial problems and hassle with parent company Mahindra & Mahindra, which even wants to get rid of the brand completely. The pandemic also came on top of that. So difficult times, as SsangYong himself indicates in a statement. Nevertheless, among all the craziness, the brand managed to draw attention to itself with the announcement of an electric model. A car that was immediately recognizable as a modified Korando in teaser photos, but was labeled as ‘EV100’ by SsangYong himself.
Now it is known that it is indeed an electric Korando, which listens to the name Korando e-Motion. The photo above clearly shows that the electric Korando exchanges its conventional front for a more closed one and blue accents that further emphasize the alternative drive form. A bit like we know from BMW’s i-models. Unfortunately, SsangYong does not release any information about the technology yet. If the Korando e-Motion has a decent range and thanks to the lack of bpm also a lot more favorable in the market than its conventionally powered brothers, it could well be a savior for the brand here in Europe.
The Korando e-Motion went into production this week, slightly later than initially expected, due to the chip shortage. SsangYong expects the first copies of the Korando e-Motion to be shipped to Europe in August and sales will begin in October.
J100
SsangYong immediately seizes the moment to bring the next newcomer to the attention. It is working on a completely new SUV, of which it already shows two sketches. According to the brand, this creation, provisionally christened ‘J100’, heralds a new design era for SsangYong and that is clearly visible. The J100 gets a different appearance, especially at the front than we know from the current models, although there are some things from other brands to recognize. The J100 is a medium-sized SUV, which has to bridge the gap between the Korando and the Rexton. The production version will be launched in 2022 and although SsangYong does not share any further details, it does state that it will eventually also come with a ‘mid-sized EV’. The J100 may therefore also be fully electric. In addition, SsangYong is working on an electric pickup.