SsangYong Motor under sale scheme seeks turnaround with new SUV

[Source: SsangYong Motor Co.]

SsangYong Motor Co. under bankruptcy court readies a rise with J100, a new mid-size sports utility vehicle, with consumers and investors bidding for renewed sale process.

The automaker has expanded J100 production by adding the model to work schedule for weekdays in mid-April upon receiving favorable market feedback after releasing rendering last year. Its new SUV is scheduled to launch in June.

The company pins high hopes for J100, anticipating the new SUV to help its revival as Tivoli, compact SUV that helped the company return to profit after release in 2015.

Under court receivership program since April last year, SsangYong Motor had been working on shorter work schedule to lessen labor cost. Since July last year, the assembly lines were idled after 3:40 p.m., and workers took turn to go on unpaid break.

The automaker will normalize workhours if monthly sale of J100 top 13,000 units.

When Tivoli was launched in 2015, the company’s sales averaged 12,000 units a month and swung to the black in 2016, noted an industry expert.

SsangYong Motor’s monthly sales averaged 7,854 units so far this year, up 12 percent on year. It has some 10,000 cars, including top sellers Rexton and Tivoli, in waiting for shipment.

The bankrupt automaker has attracted four contenders - KG Group, Ssangbangwool (SBW) Group and Pavilion Private Equity (Pavilion PE), local EV parts maker EL B&T – as its potential new owner. Preferred bidder is to be selected next week.

SsangYong Motor’s normalization cost is estimated at around 1 trillion won ($785 million), including 800 billion won worth of debts that require immediate payback.

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