SsangYong reveals XAV concept in Seoul

Hyundai and Kia may be the first to spring to mind, but South Korea has a number of other automakers within its borders – like the GM division formerly known as Daewoo, the joint venture between Renault and Samsung, and of course SsangYong.

Recently acquired by Mahindra, SsangYong has subsided for years on some pretty lackluster old-tech SUVs like the Actyon, Rexton and Rodius. But over the past few years, it's been rolling out a succession of new concepts to showcase where the company is going, and the latest is the XAV.

Unveiled at the Seoul Motor Show, the XAV is a small SUV that ostensibly previews the replacement for the Korando – which, prior to the arrival of the newer, smaller Tivoli, was the company's newest product, introduced in 2010. The original Korando hit the scene in 1983 as a licensed version of the Jeep CJ, but struck a much more unique (if not necessarily attractive) form with the second generation that arrived in 1996 ahead of the more generically styled version that followed.