KG Mobility goes back to the future with its Musso EV pickup

Thirty years in the past, the Ssangyong Musso shook the Korean SUV market with engines and know-how from Mercedes-Benz. KG Mobility hopes to emulate that success with its new Musso EV, this time with BYD batteries.   KG Mobility unveiled its first electrical pickup truck, the Musso EV, on Wednesday, bringing again the moniker from its predecessor, SsangYong Motor. First launched in 1993, the Musso is thought to have began the luxurious SUV market in Korea, in addition to the sports activities utility pickup pattern with the pickup model, the Musso Sport.     The automaker’s chairman, Kwak Jae-sun, mentioned the Musso EV is the “first new automobile of KG Mobility” that he authorized after his firm, KG Group, acquired SsangYong Motor in 2022 and adjusted the automaker’s title to KG Mobility.   “I used to be additionally the one who introduced again the Musso moniker,” Kwak mentioned throughout Wednesday’s launch occasion held at KG Mobility’s headquarters and plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi.     Going ahead, KG Mobility will use “Musso” as a reputation that covers the automaker’s pickup truck line, renaming the present Rexton Sport and Rexton Sport Khan pickup to the Musso Sport and Musso Khan, respectively.   Whereas the Musso EV incorporates a entrance facia extra paying homage to the automaker’s different SUVs in the marketplace, the Torres and Actyon, KG Mobility claims that it’s impressed by SsangYong’s Musso.   The brand new EV pickup, at 5,160 millimeters (203 inches) in size, is smaller than a Ford Ranger however is barely longer than Ford’s smallest pickup truck, the Maverick. It is usually shorter than the double-cab model of the Kia Tasman at 5,410 millimeters.     The automaker was eager to match the Musso head-on with the Tasman.   “Probably the most compelling benefit of the Musso in comparison with (the Tasman) is that it’s economical,” KG Mobility’s head of home gross sales and advertising and marketing, Park Kyung-joon, mentioned, because the automaker introduced slides instantly evaluating the fashions.   The corporate mentioned the Musso’s sooner acceleration response time, higher weight distribution and higher noise management due to its EV structure made it the higher alternative over Kia’s gasoline-powered Tasman.   “So why pay extra?” Park mentioned.   The gross sales chief additionally emphasised that the Musso EV had two extra levels of sliding and reclining within the rear seats in comparison with the Tasman. The rear seats, certainly, supplied adequately snug seating for adults. The EV additionally comes with new variations of the infotainment system, which beforehand obtained criticism for sluggish response occasions and convoluted menus.       The Musso EV is provided with BYD’s 80.6 kilowatt-hour Blade lithium iron phosphate battery, which permits the front-wheel drive model to realize 400 kilometers (248 miles) of vary, with vitality consumption of 4.2 kilometers per kilowatt. The front-wheel drive model, which hits the market this month, incorporates a 152 kilowatt-hour motor producing 207 metric horsepower (204 mechanical horsepower), whereas the four-wheel drive model, set to be launched in Could, affords 413 metric horsepower.   The 2-wheel drive mannequin begins at 48 million gained ($33,000) and is predicted to obtain round 6.52 million gained in a authorities subsidy on prime of native authorities subsidies. The automaker estimated that it could obtain 1.86 million gained in native authorities subsidies in Seoul.   Wednesday’s press convention was additionally attended by employees from FinDreams, BYD’s battery subsidiary, because the automaker is constant its collaboration with the Chinese language agency within the improvement of the upcoming Torres Hybrid in its persevering with efforts to show a brand new leaf.     “KG Mobility has a 71-year historical past as a carmaker, however truthfully, the corporate wasn’t in a position to launch that many (good) automobiles because of the twists and turns it needed to undergo,” the chairman mentioned.   “Whereas our firm could also be small, we might be catching up available in the market with unprecedented velocity.”   BY CHO YONG-JUN ((e mail protected))