SsangYong Motor, the South Korean unit of Indian carmaker Mahindra & Mahindra, has released a pickup-sport utility vehicle dubbed Rexton Sports in a move to take over the midsize SUV market, the company said Tuesday.

“Rexton Sports is a premium open-style SUV that will refresh the midsize SUV market longing for change,” said SsangYong Motor CEO Choi Jong-sik during a media conference held in eastern Seoul.

“It will solidify SsangYong as a traditional SUV powerhouse adding on to achievements reaped through Tivoli compact SUV and G4 Rexton large-size SUV.”

The sales goal for the new pickup-SUV is 2,500 vehicles per month, totaling 30,000 units a year, the company said.

Aimed at drivers with a dynamic lifestyle, preorders for 2,500 units of Rexton Sports were made in four days.


“We are planning to export Rexton Sports overseas staring with shipments to Europe and the US in March,” said Choi. He did not reveal global sales goals for the new model.

The pickup-SUV comes with a modest price tag between 23.2 million won ($21,800) and 30.5 million won.

Choi said efforts have been taken to cut down on costs to match levels customers can accept.

SsangYong Motor will continue to produce the Korando Sports pickup truck to manage demand overseas, the company said.

It recently re-entered the Sudanese market with the Korando Sports pickup and plans to tap into other African countries.

With the launch of Rexton Sports, SsangYong Motor will carry forward business strategy to divide its models into three brands -- Tivoli, Rexton and Korando -- the company said.

Rexton Sports falls under the Rexton brand together with the company’s flagship large SUV G4 Rexton launched last year.

Completely knocked-down units of the G4 Rexton will be introduced in India in the second half of this year, according to Choi.

This year SsangYong Motor plans to sell 110,000 units in Korea, up 3.1 percent on-year from 2017, ultimately with aims to sell 200,000 units annually.

By Kim Bo-gyung (lisakim425@heraldcorp.com)