Ssangyong Motor is now KG Mobility, but identity change here seems unlikely to be immediate.

TWO fresh products with electric involvement, a pick-up still known only by its factory code ‘0100’ and a smart new sports utility, might well debut a new name adopted by what we presently know as Ssangyong Motor. 

That’s a gut feeling held by the general manager for Great Lake Motor Distributor, which holds national representation rights for the South Korean marque.

Andrew Bayliss also thinks there’s fair chance the new Torres –a medium sports utility wagon first seen last year with a 1.5-litre turbopetrol but is also being buil as a full electric - and the electric traydeck might carry ‘KGM’ badging to signal Ssangyong Motor having officially rebranded as KG Mobility.

 More about how the Korean maker’s decision to change a name it held for 35 years might be known as early as next week, he believes. 

In the meantime, he’s confident transition will be carefully-managed and unlikely to be abrupt, so it’s business as usual with, no obvious impact on corporate identity displayed by the national sales network, which involves 23 dealers, nor to the present line-up.

“Eventually it (the branding) will change but not yet. It’s a bit early for me to making too many statements about it … the information we have been given … is that we, as distributors, will be notified in April about the timeline and how and when the name change will occur. 

“There is talk about it (vehicle badging) being simply called KGM but at the moment it’s just business as usual (for NZ).

“The cars will still be badged Ssangyong, they may again – from we have been told – have some reference to KG on them as well, but my guess is that probably for the remainder of this year or until new models come along later this year you’re not going to see any change.

 “As far as CI is concerned, that won’t change in the immediate future, either.”

There’s no suddenness to this, he enforces. “It’ll be a well-planned and structured timeline.”

The maker signing off the name change and a new slogan – “Go different, KG Mobility” - at a shareholder meeting last week wrapped up a process announced by new chairman Kwak Jea-sun in January.

The change comes following the acquisition of Mahindra and Mahindra’s controlling stake in the struggling manufacturer by a KG Mobility-led consortium for more than $NZ1 billion in October of last year.

The chairman explained that while the name SsangYong Motor had “a fandom with good memories” it also “has a painful image.”

A focus from now on toward electric vehicles, autonomous driving technologies, software-defined vehicles and artificial intelligence likely synches well into the NZ operation, which also intends to represent more than fossil fuel-reliant product in reaction to Government’s Clean Car push and growing consumer interest in electrics.

The new ute and the Torres (above) bolster a battery representation which began with the Korando e-Motion.  The electric Torres, identified by its EVX badging, is expected to be fully unveiled at motor show in Seoul today.

From the tenor of comment from South Korea, more battery-pure product will be signed off as it moves into becoming a future mobility company that, according to a corporate statement, “focuses on future technologies including the development of an electric vehicle dedicated platform and autonomous driving.

“By focusing on design and development of future vehicle utilising new technologies – such as EV-dedicated platforms, software-defined vehicles, autonomous vehicles and AI etcetera, the company is really embracing change, and we will grow and develop as a proud and respected future automotive mobility partner.”

South Korea-based KG Group was established in 2003 and operates through its affiliates over a range of interests including chemicals, hospitality, media and steel.

Bayliss says the change of ownership is a massive opportunity for the automaker. 

“It’s going to be a real positive. We always knew Ssangyong wasn’t going to fail, wasn’t going to die, wasn’t going to fall over. It’s now in the hands of a strong, financially-secure company and their mandate is to transition to next-generation vehicles.”

Kiwi familiarity with SsangYong has been long standing; the marque launched here soon after the branding released, in 1988. However, the company had by then already been through other name changes. It began as Ha-Dong-Hwan Motor Workshop in 1954, changed to Shinjin Motors in 1967 and becamr Dong-A Motor in 1977. SsangYong Motor was placed into receivership in April 2021 with then owner Mahindra and Mahindra citing financial difficulties and the Covid-19 pandemic as catalysts for the manufacturer’s misfortunes.

 The model range here currently spans the Korando, Musso, Rexton (above), Rexton Sports and Tivoli.