SsangYong Brings its Chairman To Malaysia
With AFTA nearing, many automakers are beginning to realise that there’s a lot of potential in this soon-to-be-born regional market with 500 million customers. The economies of most ASEAN countries are developing rapidly and the biggest group of consumers are young and therefore there will be many, many potential car-buyers in years to come.
In order to enjoy the benefits of AFTA, an automaker must have a significant presence in the region, especially in terms of manufacturing. This is because AFTA benefits such as the 0% – 5% tariff levels only apply to products which have a minimum of 40% ASEAN components. So assembling the products in the region is a must and the Japanese, as well as some non-Japanese automakers, have established themselves firmly for the expected boom time ahead.
The Korean automakers have, in the past, given less attention to this region, especially Malaysia and it’s only in recent years that names such as Kia, Daewoo and Hyundai have become more noticeable on the roads. Hyundai, in fact, was selling cars in the early 1990s but its efforts were mediocre and it is only in the past year that its marketing has been stepped up and there is even local assembly. Kia, likewise, has begun local assembly and its sales this year have been quite impressive, propelling the make to 7th position overall from obscurity last year.
Ssangyong Motor is another Korean automaker that has been around and in fact, assembled a small volume of its Musso SUV in the late 1990s. However, the economic crisis sidetracked its plans and it is only now that the company is returning with more ambitious efforts.
While DRB-HICOM has a subsidiary marketing locally-assembled Ssangyong models, Ssangyong Motor has decided to assign the distribution and marketing of its completely built-up (CBU) products to another company known as Competitive Supreme Sdn Bhd (CSSB).
This company has apparently been conducting business since early in the year. Unfortunately, it was not possible to find out more about the company from its managing director who was inaccessible because the ‘bodyguards’ present at the launch venue chose to prevent legitimate media members from getting near him, let alone enter the showroom to take pictures. According to one of the arrogant security guards, the VIPS needed to be ‘protected’… which is pretty unusual when you consider that at events where the Prime Minister is present, the press can usually go right up to him and ask him questions.
Since the company seemed to have little interest in meeting the press (a press conference was not even planned), we can’t tell you about CSSB. But we can tell you about the two products the company is launching which are the Chairman and the Rexton.
The Chairman is the flagship of Ssangyong and if it somehow reminds you of a Mercedes-Benz, that’s no coincidence or a case of ‘pirating a design’. Mercedes-Benz has a small stake in the Korean company and provided some technology to it. The first example was the Musso SUV back in the 1990s and with the Chairman, the basic design of the previous M-B W124 (the E-Class before the ‘four eyes’ generation that was phased out in 1995) was given to Ssangyong to clone… a bit like a Lancer becoming a Wira although the extent of engineering input has been greater for the Chairman.
The Chairman is an imposing sedan, befitting its lofty name, and measures 5055 mm in overall length and 1825 mm in overall width. At a glance, it could well be mistaken for the S-Class, especially from the front, but the rear end does have a stronger visual uniqueness.
Three versions of the Chairman are available, differentiated by petrol engine sizes of 3199 cc, 2799 cc and 2295 cc (the first two are 6-cylinder units while the last one is a 4-cylinder). The displacements would look familiar to those who know Mercedes-Benz engines and indeed, the engines have licensed M-B technology in them (it’s a subtle difference which M-B executives like to stress – they are not M-B engines but engines with M-B technology).
Inside, there is a certain ambience which is also Mercedes-Benz but the cabin appears to be much more spacious. Leather upholstery is standard and so is wood trim. Safety features are also generous, with front airbags as well as sidebags provided.
The Rexton is something more unique and is targeted against established rivals like the Toyota Harrier/Lexus RX300 in the luxury SUV class. Though some people feel it is cloned from the Mercedes M-Class, it appears to be a lot more unique to Ssangyong although, like the M-Class, the Rexton is also a body-on-chassis design rather than the monocoque type.
It’s a fairly big 4785 mm long vehicle, allowing three rows of seating in the cabin. Two petrol engines (2295 cc and 3199 cc) as well as a turbodiesel (2874 cc) are available and mated to a 4-speed automatic transmission.
The cabin is appointed in a luxurious manner with wood trim and has a host of convenience features. Like many SUVs, the interior designers have provided storage spaces in clever ways and one of them is a storage box in the boot which is neatly integrated with the floor panel. The boot capacity, however, is rather limited with the third row of seats in place although the backrest can be folded flat.
As we were unable to ask the CSSB top executive questions, we don’t know how many units they plan to sell this year although a source said that the company has only about 500 import permits this year.
Prices for the Chairman and Rexton (which we had to obtain from a salesman as they were not in the press kit) range from RM168,000 – RM208,000 for the sedan and RM148,000 – RM188,000 for the SUV, excluding insurance, roadtax and registration fees.
