FRANKFURT MOTOR SHOW: SsangYong XLV-Air Concept for Australia?

SsangYong has booked floor space at the Frankfurt motor show to showcase two concept vehicles based on its Tivoli small SUV, which was introduced to Korea in January and Euro markets in May 2015.

The XLV-Air previews the 'long-bodied Tivoli' that will roll out in production trim in 2016. At 4474mm, it's 279mm longer than the Tivoli and offers 720L luggage capacity, up from the standard Tivoli's 423L.

SsangYong Motor Company CEO Johng-sik Choi, who presented the seven-seat XLV-Air and XAV-Adventure 'Korando homage' at Frankfurt, confirmed to motoring.com.au that the production XLV-Air would be available to global markets.

When asked if it would be produced in right-hand drive, Choi simply said: "Yes." When pressed as to whether those global markets would include the Australian market, he nodded, before saying "Sure."

This position contrasts with previous local discussions on gaining Tivoli for Australia, with Ssangyong importer Ateco Automotive recently revealing to motoring.com.au that it was proving difficult to make Tivoli work here.

"We need a good drive-away price on the Tivoli, and it has to be competitive. So unless it's commercially viable, there's no point," said spokesman Daniel Cotterill at the time.

He tempered this by adding Tivoli is "a great car. We're really excited by it and plenty of [hot-weather] testing has been undertaken in Australia."

Angling towards concept rather than production, the XAV-Adventure is nevertheless said to preview a future 'no-nonsense' SUV, though with its two rear-mounted electric motors and electric all-wheel drive it's more advanced under the skin than it looks. Electrically-controlled air suspension and chunky run-flat tyres add further technological focus.

In addition to the concept cars, Choi confirmed the Tivoli's range expansion, with a 1.6-litre diesel option joining the existing 1.6-litre petrol variants.

With a choice of two-wheel drive and all-wheel drive, plus automatic and manual transmissions to go with the petrol and diesel powertrains, the Tivoli range looks set to continue to grow Ssangyong's global business; as it is, the existing petrol options have helped grow the company's European sales by 60 per cent to August this year.

Choi also reiterated his commitment to produce one new model per year through to 2020, to build on Tivoli's relative success.

Tivoli has already exceeded its global sales target of 38,000 sales for 2015, selling over 26,000 in the Korean domestic market alone since debut. Would you like to see it in Australia?

Full coverage from motoring.com.au at Frankfurt motor show here

More photos from Frankfurt motor show in motoring.com.au gallery