SSANGYONG MOTOR will formally be rebranded to KG Mobility from this week, the Korean producer finalising its first title change in 35 years at a shareholder assembly this week following an identical announcement made by new chairman Kwak Jea-sun in January.
The change comes following the acquisition of Mahindra and Mahindra’s controlling stake within the struggling producer by a KG Mobility-led consortium for ₩950 billion ($A1.1b)in October of final 12 months.
“The title SsangYong Motor has a fandom with good reminiscences, but it surely additionally has a painful picture,” stated Mr Jea-sun.
“From now, all SsangYong vehicles will come out to the world beneath the title of KG.”
Mr Jea-sun stated the enterprise will now give attention to new- and low-mileage used automobiles, in addition to a shift towards electrical automobiles, autonomous driving applied sciences, software-defined automobiles and synthetic intelligence.
“We’ve modified our title after 35 years and have taken step one in the direction of change and growth right into a future mobility firm,” the corporate stated in a media assertion.
“It’s our first step to changing into a mobility firm that focuses on future applied sciences together with the event of an electrical car devoted platform and autonomous driving.
“By specializing in design and growth of future car utilising new applied sciences – reminiscent of EV-dedicated platforms, software-defined automobiles, autonomous automobiles and AI etcetera, the corporate is actually embracing change, and we are going to develop and develop as a proud and revered future automotive mobility companion.”
South Korean-based KG Group was established in 2003 and operates by its associates over a spread of pursuits together with chemical compounds, hospitality, media and metal.
SsangYong started as Ha-Dong-Hwan Motor Workshop in 1954, altering its title to Shinjin Motors in 1967, Dong-A Motor in 1977 and SsangYong Motor in 1988. It was positioned into receivership in April 2021 with house owners Mahindra and Mahindra citing monetary difficulties and the COVID-19 pandemic as catalysts for the producer’s misfortunes.
The SUV-focused automobile firm’s mannequin vary presently consists of the Korando, Musso, Rexton, Rexton Sports activities, Tivoli and Torres (pictured) fashions. Simply three – the Korando, Musso and Rexton – are bought domestically.
Regardless of beneficiant aftersales assist and aggressive pricing, uncertainty surrounding the corporate’s future has seen it battle to realize vital gross sales volumes in latest occasions. To the tip of February, SsangYong has bought simply 938 automobiles nationally, or lower than 4 per cent of all South Korean-sourced fashions.
The SsangYong Korando has did not ignite native pursuits since its launch, promoting simply 76 examples inside the Medium SUV beneath $60K phase to the tip of Febraury. The Giant SUV phase (beneath $70K) Rexton bought 231 examples over the identical interval, with the remaining 631 gross sales achieved by dual-cab utility entrants Musso and Musso XLV 4×4.
