KG Mobility, formerly known as SsangYong Motor, has fully unveiled its electric version of the Torres SUV at this year’s Seoul Mobility Show and confirmed it will use a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery from Chinese giant BYD.
As reported by The Korea Herald, the Torres EVX was shown alongside a range of other electric SUV concepts the South Korean carmaker aims to launch before 2025.
The Torres EVX will reportedly launch in South Korea and Europe in the second half of 2023. It costs around ₩50 million (~A$57,500) in South Korea.
The combustion Torres is currently set to arrive in Australia in late 2023 or early 2024, with the electric version on the local division’s radar.
The KG Mobility Torres EVX is available in two trim levels in South Korea, with both of them powered by a single electric motor producing 150kW of power and a 73.4kWh LFP battery. Claimed WLTP range is 500km.
For context, the combustion-powered Torres on the other hand is powered by a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine producing 125kW and 280Nm. It’s mated to a six-speed automatic transmission.
The Torres EVX measures in at 4715mm long, 1890mm wide, and 1725mm tall. This is roughly the same size as the Mitsubishi Outlander.
With the second row of seats upright the Torres EVX has 839L of boot capacity. This expands to 1662L with the second row of seats folded down.
As previously detailed, the Torres EVX features a thoroughly revised front end, with a completely different grille, bumper and lighting.
At the rear it retains the combustion model’s overall rear design with the side-opening tailgate, but has a tweaked tail light signature.
There are also more aerodynamic, machine-finish wheels with a floral pattern. 18-inch wheels are standard on the entry-level model, and larger 20-inch units on the flagship model.
KG Mobility has overhauled the interior too, installing a curved glass assembly with dual 12.3-inch displays and a shift-by-wire gear selector.
On the safety front the Torres EVX comes with autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane-keep assist, lane departure warning, lane centring, driver attention monitoring, and tyre pressure monitoring.
There are a total of seven exterior paint colours available, with some of them able to be optioned with a black-painted roof. There are also two interior colour combinations too.
As noted above, SsangYong has officially rebranded as KG Mobility, and the company’s chairman previously said it will rebrand its vehicles too.
The company has been transitioning models to the logo it used in the 1990s, resembling two circles within a larger circle, instead of the wing-like logo it has used in recent years or KG Mobility’s corporate logo.
However, the Torres EVX features KG Mobility badging on its tailgate, while the wing-like logo is found on its centre caps.
SsangYong was saved from bankruptcy by a consortium led by steel conglomerate KG Group last in 2022 with The Korea Herald reporting a price tag of ₩950 billion (~A$1.1 billion).
The company had been under court receivership since April 2021, after its parent Mahindra & Mahindra failed to find a new investor amid the pandemic and financial difficulties.
The company’s home life has been troubled for years, and it never seems to have a stable parent for long.
Daewoo bought a controlling stake in the company in 1997, only to offload it in 2000 as it experienced perilous financial woes of its own.
It endured a tumultuous few years under Chinese ownership, with SAIC Motor acquiring 51 per cent in 2004 but walking away in 2009 and leaving it in receivership.
Mahindra & Mahindra was the next parent to adopt SsangYong, acquiring a controlling stake of 70 per cent for 523 billion won in 2011.
