► Next SsangYong Rexton due 2021
► Design being assessed by Pininfarina
► Both companies owned by Mahindra
SsangYong isn’t a car company renowned for its classic design language. But the next-generation Rexton SUV is likely to be designed by famous styling studio Pininfarina, SsangYong’s CEO Jong Sik Choi has today confirmed.
‘We just launched the Rexton D-SUV just a couple of months ago [in Korea], but the future next generation of the Rexton we’re starting to discuss with Pininfarina. In the EU the D-segment market is very limited in volume so if we don’t have anything unique and special to offer customers then it will be very difficult to sell our cars there.’
Internally codenamed D200, development of the new SsangYong Rexton is already underway. Initial design work started in autumn 2016, and it is scheduled to be launched in late 2021/early 2022.
SsangYong and Pininfarina?
Both Korean car maker SsangYong and Italian design and engineering specialists Pininfarina have a common owner. Both companies are part of the Mahindra Group, which acquired Pininfarina in 2015 in a deal thought to have been worth around £132m.
This doesn’t necessarily mean the next Rexton is going to look like a Ferrari 250 LM Stradale Speciale or an Alfa Romeo 2uettottanta, mind. But it stands a good chance of looking a bit more desirable than the outgoing model [tested in pre-update form in the link – the car pictured is the latest 2017 version].
That said, Pininfarina doesn’t always get it right – Daewoo Tacuma, anyone?
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