SsangYong saved! Kia and Hyundai rival is finally bailed out as Australian sales rise ahead of new Torres SUV launch

After years of uncertainty, the saga surrounding the ownership of SsangYong looks like it’s finally been resolved.

A consortium led by Korean chemical company KG Group was approved last week by the Korean Fair Trade Commission and the Seoul Bankruptcy Court as the new owners.

SsangYong has been under a court receivership since April last year, and has been searching for a new owner for about three years, after parent company, Indian giant Mahindra & Mahindra, announced it was offloading the SUV and light-commercial vehicle specialist.

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According to The Korea Herald, KG Group will acquire a 61 per cent stake in SsangYong Motor at 950 billion won (AUD$1 billion).

According to the Herald, the Fair Trade Commission said it green lit the deal on the basis that the acquisition is “not likely to hamper competition in related markets, including cold rolled steel sheets and automaking”.

It added that the approval of the acquisition will help SsangYong to normalise its operations and improve its competitiveness. 

Pulse News reports that SsangYong’s commercial creditors consisting of 340 partner firms have given their proxy votes to approve the carmaker’s turnaround plan. The publication said major companies like Hyundai Motor Group’s parts-making unit Hyundai Transys and Heesung Catalysts recently agreed with the plan.

SsangYong turnaround plan needed approval from three-fourths of the securities right holders, two-thirds of the creditors, and half of the shareholders, according to Pulse News.

The Rexton is one of SsangYong's best sellers.

Two other companies were in the running to buy SsangYong, including underwear manufacturer, Ssangbangwool, and EV parts maker, EL BT.

This latest round of potential buyers followed a failed attempt to buy SsangYong by electric bus maker Edison Motors.

The ownership uncertainty does not seem to have hindered SsangYong’s new model development. In June, SsangYong revealed the newest addition to its line-up, the Torres medium SUV. 

It will sit above the Korando and below the larger Rexton and is expected to be offered in Australia at some point next year as a rugged looking rival for models like the Toyota RAV4.

The Korando e-Motion is SsangYong's first EV.

In the past 12-to-18 months SsangYong has launched the electric version of the Korando, dubbed the e-Motion, and the electric Musso ute, in its home market. 

According to Just Auto, SsangYong’s global vehicle sales dropped by 21 per cent to 58,281 units in the first seven months of 2022, despite a six per cent increase in its domestic South Korean sales to 34,277 units.

In Australia, SsangYong is bucking the downward trend of many manufacturers, with sales up by 6.7 per cent to the end of July. In fact the July haul of 364 units represented a 34 per cent increase over the same month in 2021.

The Rexton SUV is the top seller so far this year with 760 units, followed by the mechanically related Musso ute on 718 and the Korando medium SUV with 329.

SsangYong is currently without an offering in the small SUV segment following the short-lived run of the Tivoli five- and seven-seater model that was dropped not long after it went on sale in Australia.