The Korea Herald

지나쌤

Ssangyong Motor drives sales in Europe with Tivoli

By KH디지털2

Published : Nov. 22, 2015 - 18:27

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Ssangyong Motor, the South Korean unit of India’s Mahindra & Mahindra, is targeting the European market by promoting its compact sport utility vehicle Tivoli through global launch events and television advertisements, company officials said.

The company began showcasing diesel-powered Tivoli vehicles in the European market in May by introducing its best-selling model and holding a test drive event in the Italian city of Tivoli, which bears the car’s namesake.

Since then, it opened a dealership in Ankara, Turkey in the same month and held test drive events in Brussels, Belgium in June and in Frankfurt, Germany in September.

Ssangyong also held a two-day service conference in Madrid in Oct. 20, where service and quality assurance managers hosted meetings to share successful service cases and solutions for improving product quality, service and sales. 

The diesel-powered Tivoli SUV launched in Europe Ssangyong Motor The diesel-powered Tivoli SUV launched in Europe Ssangyong Motor

The automaker added it has been holding annual service conferences by regions since 2011 and plans to hold a global service conference next year.

Ssangyong has also used various outlets to promote themselves in the European market. They began airing commercials with the slogan “Escape from the ordinary” across 54 European countries through sports channel Eurosport and its affiliate brands, as well as online and mobile.

The British outlet of Ssangyong Motor has also advertised the car through British TV network ITV and sports channel ESPN under the anagram “TIVOLI=I LOV IT.”

Ssangyong’s promotions have seen tangible results. British motoring magazine Auto Express gave Tivoli a favorable review, particularly in the “Practicality, comfort and boot (trunk) space” section, saying that “Tivoli is up with the very best cars of its type in terms of cabin (interior) and boot space.”

Tivoli saw global sales of over 5,000 cars for six consecutive months and has sold over 40,000 units in total. Company officials said they expect to achieve the goal of 60,000 Tivoli unit sales globally by the end of the year, as exports to the European region have increased by 60 percent since launching the Tivoli diesel.

“The Ssangyong Tivoli, which has led the Korean SUV market since its launch in January, has also been garnering much interest overseas,” said Ssangyong Motor CEO Choi Johng-sik.

“In addition to the launch events in six European countries, we will explore new markets and take on active marketing strategies for different regions to solidify our position in the European SUV market and expand our global sales,” Choi added.

By Sang Youn-joo(sangyj@heraldcorp.com)