Battery models stand to fore in ‘self-rescue’ plan; first to come is an electric Korando.

J100 Concept enters production from next year and seems set to spawn a ute in addition to a SUV.

INTENT to create an electric-driven traydeck, potentially based off a new battery-dedicated sports utility vehicle, has been indicated by SsangYong.

Entering the electric sector with several models – one a battery-driven version of the Korando sports utility and others seemingly based on a common underpinning yet to hit the road, and apparently rolling out progressively from as early as 2022 - is core to a revitalisation plan announced overnight by the South Korean marque, whose financial position has under the spotlight since the Mahindra brand divorced and curtailed funding.

It’s a strategy the make’s local distributor is keen on, with SsangYong New Zealand general manager Andrew Bayliss saying “the bottom line is, we want them as soon as we can get them.”

However, reality is that the roll out will take time, and nothing is yet set in concrete, though the e-Korando is set to arrive before the others.

The national distributor is heartened by SsangYong’s latest proposal, which is to enter into what it describes as a new self-rescue phase as it seeks to find a “new investor that will commit to continuous future investment”.

That process kicked into gear with a home market presentation overnight in which it announced its intents, with an immediate determination to have the Korando e-Motion SUV, above, as its first ever EV.

Beyond that there will be a brand-new vehicle it calls the J100.

The latter is designed to enter the mid-size all-electric SUV market in a SUV format that appears intended to undercut like-sized European models – including the mainstream-minded Volkswagen Group MEB platform vehicles coming to NZ (Skoda Enyaq, VW ID.4 and Cupra Born) – and go head-to head with the likes of China’s MG ZS EV, which currently stands as the cheapest new EV in the country, down to just over $40,000 when the just-announced Government feebate is included in a purchase.

SsangYong provisioned teaser images of the J100 but no technical specifications, though overseas reports have reminded that in 2018 the make revealed plans for a purpose made pure-electric SUV platform suitable for C and D segment SUV models, the same size as has now been hinted at for the new product.

One of those images appears to suggest that J100 could also provide as a utility.

SsangYong says having this product is not just crucial to meeting the future demands of the international automotive market but also to any future merger and acquisition process.

“By renewing confidence in the brand, ensuring its survival in the rapidly changing automotive marketplace, and achieving future growth, SsangYong is aiming to quickly end the company’s rehabilitation procedures,” it said in a statement.

J100 crucial to meeting future market demands and to any future merger and acquisition process.

“New car development is central to this and is being achieved through cost reduction and system efficiencies achieved through production and human resources management.”

Developed under the project name of E100, the electric Korando went into full-scale production on June 14 but Bayliss does expect right-hand drive build to start until later this year.

Going electric with the Korando means the new model has the same bodywork as the fossil-fuelled editions, but with trademark EV design elements such as a more aerodynamic blanked-off grille with a new front bumper and fog light arrangement, aerodynamic wheels and new blue trim detailing around the car’s exterior to highlight its credentials.

Mechanical details have not been shared, but British publication AutoExpress has suggested the use of a 61.5kWh lithium-ion battery, paired to a 140kW electric motor on the front axle.

Meantime, like many brands, SsangYong has been affected by the global shortage of semi-conductors but Bayliss says this has not been too detrimental to product supply to NZ.