South Korean OEM Ssangyong Motor, owned by Mahindra & Mahindra, has entered the Indian market with the launch of its SUV, the Rexton. Designed and developed by Ssangyong in Korea, this is the third-generation of the model.
Among those present at the launch were Pawan Goenka, President, Automotive & Farm Equipment sectors, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Chairman of Ssangyong Motor; Yoo-Il Lee, Chief Executive Officer, Ssangyong Motor, and Pravin Shah, Chief Executive – Automotive division, Mahindra.
The Rexton goes on sale in Mumbai and the Delhi National Capital Region (NCR) today (18 October). The Ssangyon Rexton for the Indian market is assembled at Mahindra’s facility in Chakan, near Pune. This version features components from South Korea and India.
“Our partnership with the Mahindra Group has now allowed us to explore joint product and technology development opportunities and synergise global operations and purchase. It is due to this reason that we have been able to offer products like the SsangYong Rexton,” Yoo-Il Lee said.
The Rexton is being offered in two variants in the Indian market – the RX5 and the RX7. The RX5 is powered by a 2.7-litre RX270 XDi diesel engine, capable of 162bhp and 340Nm of torque. This engine is mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. Mahindra claims fuel mileage of 12.4km/l for this version.
The RX7 features a 2.7-litre RX270 XVT engine, delivering 184bhp, with a torque rating of 402Nm. This engine is coupled with a five-speed E-tronic automatic transmission, featuring technology from Mercedes-Benz. For this version, the OEM claims fuel consumption of 11.18km/l. The permanent all-wheel drive (AWD) system in the RX7 distributes 60% torque to the rear wheels and 40% to the front wheels.
The Rexton also offers features such as cruise control, electronic stability program (ESP), hill descent control, and anti-rollover protection. “The Rexton enhances our SUV product portfolio as we go up the price value ladder,” said Shah.
The Ssangyong Rexton by Mahindra carries a base price tag of Rs1.77m (US$33,138), rising to Rs1.97m for the higher end version.
