After 35 years, this famous Korean car company has changed its name

According to media reports, on March 22, South Korean company Ssangyong Motors held a regular shareholder meeting and accepted a proposal to change name of company, confirming that name of company will be changed to "KG MOBILITY". The company changed its name in 35 years.

Concern Avtoprom checked official website of Ssangyong Motors and found that official website of this automobile company has officially changed its name to "KG MOBILITY". According to report, SsangYong Motor plans to accelerate development of future vehicle-related technologies and enter new areas such as used vehicles and specially equipped vehicles.

SsangYong Motor is fourth largest car manufacturer in South Korea. Founded in 1954, company mainly produces large passenger cars, special purpose vehicles, automobile engines and spare parts. Its main model is SUVs, which are mainly exported to Europe and Asia. , Central and South America and Africa and more than 60 countries and regions. The Automotive Industry Concern discovered that Ssangyong Motors was established not too late in setting up development process of Ssangyong Motors, but its development process was not going smoothly. Ssangyong Motors was formerly known as Hadong Huan Automobile Plant, founded in 1954. At first, Ssangyong Motors mainly produced jeeps for US Army, in 1976 it began to produce special vehicles, in 1988 it was acquired by Ssangyong Group and transformed into Ssangyong Motors. It has been using that name ever since. The second reason is that company changed its name for first time in 35 years.

In 1991, Ssangyong Motors began to form a technical partnership with Daimler-Benz (now Daimler-Chrysler). In 1997, Ssangyong Motors was acquired by Daewoo Motors. In 2000 company was sold. After that, Ssangyong Motors was also sold. different car companies for different reasons.

In 2001, Ssangyong Motor officially entered Chinese market and established Shenzhen Ssangyong Automobile Sales Co., Ltd., which at that time was one of first foreign brands to enter Chinese market. The price is expensive (up to 480,000 yuan), and in principle, no one cares, and it was not possible to open Chinese market.

In 2004, Shanghai Automotive Industry (Group) Corporation (hereinafter referred to as "SAIC") acquired a 49% stake in Ssangyong Motors for US$500 million and completed share transfer to South Korea's Ssangyong Motor Corporation on January 27. 2005 SAIC Motor acquired a 51.33% stake in Ssangyong Motors and formally became its largest shareholder. Since then, Ssangyong Motors has focused on mid-range and high-end 4WD SUV and sedan market. Its products include CHAIRMAN luxury sedan, REXTON 4WD SUV, KORANDO, MUSSO and luxury minivan RODIUS and others. But after acquisition, performance of SsangYong Motor did not improve. Due to mismanagement and effects of 2008 economic crisis, Ssangyong Motors filed for bankruptcy protection in January 2009. Against this background, SAIC initially wanted to acquire Ssangyong Motors in one fell swoop, but this was opposed by Korean union. and ultimately ended in failure.

In 2009, M&A collaboration between SsangYong Motor and SAIC Motor ended. The following year, Ssangyong Motors was acquired by Indian automotive giant Mahindra & Mahindra, who acquired a 70% stake in Ssangyong Motors for 522.5 billion won and became new owner of Ssangyong Motors.

In 2015, Ssangyong Motors launched Tivoli, positioning it as a compact SUV. Once upon a time, it was popular with consumers in market. In 2016, thanks to Tivoli models, Ssangyong Motor made a net profit of 58 billion won. It is a pity that after a brief highlight, Ssangyong Motor soon suffered losses. The data shows that from 2017 to 2019, Ssangyong Motors posted a net loss of 66 billion won, 62 billion won and 341 billion won, respectively. By 2020, Ssangyong Motor's operating loss continues to rise: operating losses in first half alone reached 215.8 billion won (equivalent to approximately 1.265 billion yuan), close to company's total loss of 281.9 billion won (equivalent to approximately 1.652 billion yuan). ) in 2019. This year, Mahindra planned to invest 230 billion won (equivalent to approximately 1.35 billion yuan) in SsangYong Motors over next three years, but was hit by external factors such as epidemic, and decision was finally rejected by Mahindra's board of directors in July 2022. Since then, Mahindra has been willing to relinquish control of Ssangyong Motors and find a suitable buyer for it.

In October 2021, market sources said that Edison Motors, a new carmaker, would acquire Ssangyong Motors for approximately €223 million, or become new buyer of Ssangyong Motors, which would also be third buyer of Ssangyong Motors. . On March 28, 2022, Ssangyong Motors announced that proposed equity deal between two parties was canceled because Edison Motors missed payment deadline.

The fall of SsangYong Motor, a well-known car company in South Korea, is embarrassing. Since its inception, Ssangyong Motors has failed to open market and failed to turn tide after being acquired by car companies such as China's SAIC Motor and India's Mahindra. representatives of traditional automobile companies have serious problems in global competition, homogenization, and main reason for failures may be due to lack of core technologies and lack of products.

Ssangyong Motors will reportedly unveil first batch of photos of new Torres EVX at Seoul Auto Show on March 30, 2023, and will announce a total of 16 concept cars and production vehicles, of which exterior of new Torres EVX model will feature Ssangyong branding. which will be removed as company will be renamed KG Mobility but Ssangyong badge will remain on steering wheel. In addition, Ssangyong Motors will also completely overhaul its logo and corporate identity, but no official details have been released at this time.

According to latest news, Ssangyong Motors will accelerate development of automotive technology after name change and expand into new areas such as used vehicles and special purpose vehicles. This could be a new opportunity for Ssangyong Motors. Checking new appearance will take longer.