√South Korea’s SsangYong car brand to be renamed KG Mobility

Despite being known as SsangYong for more than three decades, the company’s new owners plan to rename the South Korean car-maker as KG Mobility.

The SsangYong name will soon be dropped under radical plans outlined by the company’s new boss.

At an event held by the South Korean Automobile Journalists Association, SsangYong Chairman Kwak Jea-sun told the audience the car-maker would soon be known as KG Mobility, according to local newspaper The Korea Herald.

A Drive report from August 2022 suggested the business would be renamed as KG SsangYong Mobility, but Mr Kwak – who is also the chairman of SsangYong’s new parent company KG Group – says the SsangYong name is no longer needed, despite 35 years of history.

“The name – SsangYong Motor – has a fandom with good memories, but it also has a painful image,” Mr Kwak said at the event.

“From now, all SsangYong cars will come out to the world under the name of KG. Even with the name change, SsangYong Motor’s history will not change and [the company] will have the same conditions,” he said.

KG Group, a chemical and steel giant, took a majority ownership of the Korean car company in mid 2022 from Indian company Mahindra, paying off SsangYong’s $AU340 million debt by November last year.

“SsangYong now plans to accelerate its early management normalisation by increasing sales and quickly making a profit,” the company said in a media statement at the time.

MORE: SsangYong off life support after repaying $AU340 million debt

Despite a tumultuous few years, SsangYong has been forging ahead with new models, with the brand expected to launch its upcoming Torres SUV in Australia in 2023.

The Torres is expected to be followed by a new SUV in 2024. An electric version of the Torres – and an electric ute – are also planned.

The new company name of KG Mobility is expected to be approved by shareholders in March 2023.

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