Ssangyong Motor will showcase its compact sport utility vehicle Tivoli at the Auto Shanghai 2015 on Wednesday, targeting China, the world’s fastest-growing SUV market.

The Tivoli, which will be sold under the name Tivolan in China, will be the creme de la creme of Ssangyong’s SUV lineups and cement the carmaker’s status as a thriving SUV maker in the country, the company said.

“China has been constantly growing and its SUV market is a great opportunity for Ssanyong. With our iconic Korando C and Tivolan, we will conduct aggressive marketing to bring up our brand awareness and strive to expand the compact SUV market itself,” said Choi Johng-sik, CEO at Ssangyong Motor. 

Three Tivolans and the Tivoli Electric Vehicle with Range-extender will be on display at the 810 square meter booth at the auto show, alongside other popular Ssangyong cars ― Chairman W, Rexton W, Korando C, Actyon and Korando Tourismo.

The Tivoli EVR, which premiered at the Geneva Motor Show in March, is an eco-friendly concept car that runs 130 kilometers on EV mode and 500 kilometers in Range Extend mode. It runs 150 kilometers per hour but emits just 35 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer.

The Tivolan will start sales in June in China with its 1.6 liter gasoline model, followed by its high-performance diesel and 4WD vehicles in the future. After receiving rave reviews and a strong market response in Korea, as well as Europe and South America, Ssangyong plans to sell 5,000 Tivolans in China this year. The company will reinforce its local sales network and design various events to allow potential customers to get a hands-on experience with the vehicle.

China will be the newest destination for Tivoli, which is already shipped to Belgium, the U.K., Spain, Italy, Peru and Chile. The compact SUV has already sold more than 11,000 units in Korea and is expected to tap into Chinese motorists seeking a dynamic compact SUV.

According to Ssangyong, 760,000 compact SUVs were sold in China in 2014, up 90 percent from 360,000 units in 2013. The SUV market itself is growing at a rapid pace, with more than 4 million units sold last year.

Ssangyong entered the Chinese market in 2011 and has 120 dealer networks in the country. The company plans to increase this to 150 by the end of the year.

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)