KG eyes sales turnaround with launch of hybrid Torres SUV, Musso EV pickup in March

KG Mobility is expecting a big sales rebound this year with two highly anticipated models, the hybrid version of the Torres SUV and the Musso EV electric pickup truck, both slated to hit the market in March.

Concept vehicle of KG Mobility's Musso EV, its first electric pickup. The car, first unveiled at the Seoul Mobility Show 2023, is slated to debut in March. [NEWS1]

KG Mobility is expecting a big sales rebound this year with two highly anticipated models, the hybrid version of the Torres SUV and the Musso EV pickup truck, both slated to hit the market in March.

The desperate injection of new models comes after the Korean automaker's sales in the domestic market plummeted to a 12-year low last year, mainly due to the absence of hybrid models as demand for those environmentally friendly vehicles spikes in contrast to slumping EV purchases.

“KG Mobility plans to launch both the Torres Hybrid and the long-awaited Musso EV in March following the recent revelation of the Korean government’s guidelines for EV subsidies,” a KG Mobility executive told the Korea JoongAng Daily.

The executive added that releasing both models in the same month is part of efforts to boost sales as the Environment Ministry unveiled this year’s EV subsidy guidelines in early January, almost two months earlier than usual.

The Torres EVX ibeing manufactured at KG Mobility's plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, in April, 2024. [KG MOBILITY]

The Torres Hybrid is expected to carry a 1.5-liter gasoline engine, assisted by BYD-made 1.8 kilowatt-hour lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, though detailed specs have not been disclosed.

The anticipated fuel economy is 16 kilometers per liter, slightly more than Kia's best-selling Sorento Hybrid SUV, which recorded 15.7 kilometers per liter.

The Musso EV electric truck, erstwhile known by the project name O100, is believed to carry 80.7 kilowatt-hours of battery manufactured by China's BYD.

The vehicle, which will be Korea’s first-ever electric truck, can run up to 401 kilometers per single charge, according to its certification results shared by Environment Ministry.

KG Mobility hopes the throw-in comes as the automaker has seen sales sharply drop since the success of the petrol-engined Torres SUV two years ago.

KG Mobility sold 47,046 cars in Korea last year, down 25.7 percent on year and the first time its sales fell below 50,000 since 2012. The company launched the Actyon SUV in August, the first new vehicle under KG since its acquisition of debt-ridden SsangYong Motor, but sales failed to live up to expectations.

Demand for hybrid vehicles is growing in Korea. Roughly 1.63 million vehicles were sold in Korea in 2024, down 6.5 percent on year, but sales of hybrid cars jumped 32 percent during the same period.

“Hybrid variants of the Torres and electric trucks will launch in European markets soon, but the specific timeline has not been decided yet,” said a spokesperson for KG Mobility.

KG Mobility also aims to roll out the KR10, the successor of the Korando mid-size SUV, as early as the second half of the year. The model will possibly be available in all three engine options: gasoline, hybrid and electric.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]