SsangYong has appointed five new dealers to the franchise with new appointments currently running at around one a month.

Burrells Motor Group in Doncaster, Driven Car Sales in Stockton-on-Tees, Hammertons Batley in West Yorkshire, Horsham Car Centre in West Sussex and Shukers in Telford have all taken on the franchise.

Paul Williams, SsangYong chief executive, said the arrival of the new Tivoli B-segment crossover model has boosted interest in the new franchise.

He said: “Confidence in the SsangYong brand has been growing steadily as our sales performance indicates, but Tivoli has really fired-up enquiries from potential dealers.

“We’re also now hearing from businesses representing premium brands looking for another string to their bow.

“Additionally, we’re finding that existing SsangYong dealers are wanting to add the brand to other locations they either already have or want to open for us, Shukers in Shrewsbury and now Telford being a case in point.  This is hugely encouraging.”

SsangYong is looking to continue to expand its dealer network in the UK.

Williams says he wants partners that have an “entrepreneurial ‘can do’ attitude and is looking for at least another 36 dealers to join its network.

Current open points include: Aberdeen, Ayr, Barnstaple, Basingstoke, Bedford, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Cambridge, Chester, Derby, Dover, Dundee, Edinburgh, Folkestone, Greater Manchester, Grimsby, Hull, Inverness, Isle of Man, Kings Lynn, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Mid & North Wales, Newbury, Nottingham, Orkneys, Perth, Portsmouth, Reading, Salisbury, Shetlands, Southampton, Worcester and York.