China Car Times

Korean automaker, Ssangyong,( now owned by SAIC), found themselves in a bit of a pickle earlier this year when oil price spikes sent oil soaring towards the $150USD marker, nobody wants to buy a SUV or a truck when they cant afford the gas for it, and when you only make SUV’s and trucks, that becomes a problem.

Ssangyong have come up with the solution to the SUV/Truck only range, and have designed a concept car that looks good, and on paper, looks like it will perform well as well. The concept, named C200, is said to be monocoque construction, rather than the chassis on body style that works well for SUVs/Trucks. Under the hood, the C200 is expected to have the option of a 2.0l diesel engine that packs 175bhp, and will be paired to a 6 speed manual gearbox.

The C200 may run into trouble with Mercedes for using the C moniker, which Mercedes use on their own auto line up, but otherwise the Ssangyong is expected to be aired at the Paris Auto Show soon.

With SAIC have a majority stake in Ssangyong, and with SUV platform sharing going on, it could be that the C200 see’s service in the PRC under the Roewe badge, or even in Europe under the MG badge. Its currently hard to tell if the C200 will be a crossover SUV, or a hatchback type vehicle, either way, branded as an MG, and packing 175bhp from a diesel engine it could find itself a market in the UK, and the rest of Europe.