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  • Ssangyong SUT 1 – more Actyon Sports to thrill you

    In Cars, International News, Koreans, Ssangyong / By / / 7 comments

    If it looks familiar, it’s because it is – Ssangyong’s latest concept, called the SUT 1, is a reworking of its Actyon Sports, all dressed up and ready to go. To Geneva, in this case.

    The company says that the SUT 1 maintains the essential characteristics of a traditional pick-up, but presents a more contemporary look to reflect the styling expected of today’s Sports Utility Truck. Er, ahem, yes.

    The concept is similar in size to the current Actyon Sports, at 4,985mm long x 1,910mm wide x 1,755mm high, which really makes it the same vehicle underneath all that nipping and tucking.

    It’ll be powered by a 2.0 litre diesel job, which turns out 153 hp and 360 Nm – available from 1,500 to 2,800 rpm – for numbers, and two transmission options are available as partner to the Euro 5 compliant pot, an automatic or a six-speed manual.

    There’ll be both two-wheel and four-wheel drive versions of the dressed-up pick-up, which is slated to go on sale across Europe and other markets from early 2012.

    Gallery after the jump.
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  • Mahindra-Ssangyong deal to be done by March 2011

    In Cars, International News, Koreans, Ssangyong / By / / 25 comments

    It’s official – South Korean SUV maker Ssangyong will be 70% owned by India’s largest SUV maker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, after a US$378 million deal goes through pending approval from Ssangyong’s creditors. The deal is expected to be concluded in March next year. It looks like Ssangyong’s ownership is passing from one superpower to another – China failed to do much with it, now it’s India’s turn :)

     

  • The new Ssangyong Korando e-XDi200: the C200 Concept makes it to production!

    In Cars, International News, Ssangyong / By / / 18 comments

    For the longest time any time Korean SUV specialist Ssangyong appears in the news it’s been all doom and gloom. Here’s a good reason for Ssangyong to be in the news again – the Ssangyong C200 Concept penned by Italdesign Giugiaro has finally made it into production – here’s the new Ssangyong Korando.

    Being a C-segment SUV, it competes with other SUVs such as the Hyundai Tucson, the Kia Sportage, the Renault Koleos and the Honda CR-V. There’s no quirkiness about the new C-segment SUV’s design language as demonstrated by some of the previous Ssangyong models but then again you’ll probably agree with me when I say that it’s also lost some of the edge that made the concept version so compelling. In a bid to be a non-offensive design the Korando has ended up looking a little last generation.

    Under the hood at launch is a new e-XDi200 engine making 175 PS and a peak torque of 360Nm from 2,000-3,000rpm, consuming just 6.0 litres of diesel per 100km and putting out 157g/km of CO2. The turbodiesel engine has a variable geometry turbocharger and is said to be Euro 6 compliant. It can be either had had with either a 6-speed manual transmission or a 6-speed automatic, with both front wheel drive and all wheel drive configurations.

    The all wheel drive systems runs on 100% front wheel power by default and only sends power to the rear wheels if needed, but 4WD mode can be locked if needed at speeds below 40km/h. Later, two other engines will be added to the mix – another smaller diesel engine and a petrol engine.

    The new Ssangyong Korando’s unibody chassis sits on MacPherson struts at the front and a multi-link suspension at the rear. As for off-road capability – the following specs are given: a ground clearance of 180mm, an approach angle of 22.8 degrees, a departure angle of 28.2 degrees, a ramp angle of 18.5 degrees, and a wading depth of 300mm.

    Look after the jump for a full gallery of the new Ssangyong Korando.
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  • Mahindra is the chosen bidder for Ssangyong takeover

    In Cars, International News, Koreans, Ssangyong / By / / 13 comments

    Mahindra has been chosen as the preferred bidder for Ssangyong Motors, and the two companies are set to sign a Memorandum of Understanding by the end of August 2010 before a due diligence process starts the following month. Mahindra will also be paying a 5% deposit for its bidding price this month.

    There’s no official word on how much Mahindra’s bid is. Whatever the amount is, taking over Ssangyong isn’t going to be cheap, and then there is also the question of the huge amount of debt the South Korean SUV maker has. Renault-Nissan pulled out due to high costs, and Mahindra was picked over Indian tyre maker Ruia Group and South Korean company Young An Hat Co Ltd, the owner of Daewoo Bus.

     

  • Ssangyong seals long term Russian CKD deal in the midst of a sale process

    In Cars, International News, Koreans, Ssangyong / By / / 3 comments

    The future of Ssangyong, Korea’s smallest car manufacturer known here as the maker of the Rexton, is not sorted yet as the company is up for sale under a court-led restructuring process. Six potential suitors, which includes Renault and India’s Mahindra & Mahindra, are waiting for the $500 million deal to go through. But that hasn’t stopped the company from sealing big deals abroad.

    SsangYong Motors announced on Tuesday that they will be supplying Russian company Sollers with 156,100 knocked down kits in a CKD export deal right through to 2017, starting with 16,700 units next year. The arrivals will be assembled in Sollers’ factory in Vladivostok. It was not mentioned what model or models the figure included.

    Sollers is a Russian company which also assembles Russian UAZ off-roaders, Fiat and Isuzu vehicles. The company pumps out about 300,000 automobiles a year and has an annual turnover that exceeds $2.48 billion.

    Source

     

  • Mahindra and Renault compete to buy stake in bankrupt Ssangyong

    In International News, Mahindra, Renault, Ssangyong / By / / 16 comments

    Indian conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra have announced their interest in taking over the now bankrupt Korean car maker Ssangyong. But that’s not all, they are facing competition from their Indian market partners Renault in the bid.

    M&M and Renault have history together as they used to be partners in the production of the Logan series cars in India. Nissan came in later on in a threeway deal. But in 2008, Mahindra exited the venture and bought up Renault’s stake in Logan JV. Due to problems within the two companies sales of Logan suffered dramatically.

    Other bidders in the mix include Ruia Group, the owners of Dunlop India, Korean aluminium producer SM Group, private equity fund Seoul Investment and a company that makes Daewoo buses. The Ruia Group as confident about their chances, as they feel that they have the expertise in turning ‘sick’ companies around. They have identified value in the business thus have put in a bid for the same.

    Estimates from the South Korean media have stated that the bids put in place were somewhere in between $300 to $500 million. Clearly both Renault and Mahindra see some ‘value’ (as the Ruia Group put it) in Ssangyong. Mahindra that dominates the Indian SUV market, is planning to launch its own brand in the US, thus modern (some Mercedes-Benz derived) SUV technology such that used in the Rexton and Kyron would come in handy.

    Mahindra is currently filling up it’s portfolio with a variety of buyouts which include the recent purchase of REVA electric. REVA previously had dealings with GM in the production of an electric car, but pulled out close to the time Mahindra announced its buyout of the EV producing company.

     

  • Ssangyong 3-year plan finally gets approval

    In Cars, International News, Koreans, Ssangyong / By / / 21 comments

    Ssangyong C200 Concept
    Ssangyong C200 Concept

    Not all hope is lost for SUV-focused Korean brand Ssangyong, whose future was in limbo thus far, having being ‘abandoned’ by its owner SAIC and such. It went into bankruptcy protection in February. It would be a shame for them to go down right now, having produced a rather interesting looking compact SUV concept recently.

    The South Korean courts today finally approved Ssangyong’s revival plans – a 3 year program designed to increase competitiveness, return to profitability and triple revenues over their financial results this year. The courts said the revival plan proved to be more worthwhile than a liquidation, and now Ssangyong can finally seek new investments and financing to carry out this new revival plan.

    Ssangyong C200 Rear

    “With supporters outnumbering opponents, we decided top give the green light to the plan to protect the interests of the majority. We also took into consideration the possible negative impact on the society and subcontractors if the self-rescue plan was rejected,” said Judge Ko Young-han. SsangYong had secured a majority number of votes for the plan from shareholders, bondholders and domestic creditors.

    The plan includes a write-off of 80 per cent of the shares held by SAIC which will reduce its stake from 51 per cent to 11.2 per cent, and a conversion of 393 billion won of debt into new shares. Other shareholders will see their holdings written down at 3-to-1 initially, with a further write-down for all shareholders in January.

    Don’t underestimate the Koreans – if Ssangyong can pull off the same amazing trick that Hyundai-Kia have done with both their brands, we’ll may soon be amazed at model after model churned out by a new “Korean Land Rover”.

     

  • Ssangyong C200 Aero and C200 Eco Concepts

    In Cars, Concept Cars, International News, Koreans, Ssangyong / By / / 19 comments

    Ssangyong C200 Concept

    The theme for news on this blog today is obviously SUVs. This is the new Ssangyong C200 Aero and Eco concepts, I think you can guess which is Aero and which is Eco, just look at the more “Eco” colour for the Eco. Ssangyong calls this Audi-like machine tyled by Giugiaro ItalDesign a “CUV” or Compact Urban Vehicle when in reality it’s a compact SUV, but if BMW can call their X6 a coupe I suppose anything goes.

    The new CUV has a 2,650mm wheelbase and a length of 4,400mm, which is actually smaller than the BMW X3. It’s more of the length of the short wheelbase latest generation RAV4 with the wheelbase of the long wheelbase RAV4.

    The Ssangyong C200 Aero uses a turbocharged 1.8 litre engine while the C200 Eco uses a 2.0 litre turbodiesel. Both are mated to a 6-speed automatic by default but Ssangyong says they will also make available a manual for those who prefer to do their own cog-shifting.

    More shots after the jump including one of the interior.
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  • Ssangyong C200 Eco Concept

    In Cars, Concept Cars, Koreans, Ssangyong / By / / 11 comments

    Ssangyong C200 Eco Concept

    Ssangyong is in dire straits and is currently under court receivership, but while its financial books get sorted out the show must go on, the Seoul Motor Show that is, and the company will be exhibiting the Ssangyong C200 Eco Concept there.

    The C200 is a SUV similiar in size to the Tiguan, RAV4, CR-V and Qashqai and uses Ssangyong’s first monocoque chassis for an SUV. Under its hood is the same 175 horsepower 2.0 litre turbodiesel engine as the first C200 and this is mated to a 6-speed automatic. Ssangyong has also used alot of aluminium in its supension components to help reduce weight. They intend to give the C200 an European feel when it comes to ride and handling.

    Also set to be released at the show is a hybrid turbodiesel Kyron, combining Ssangyong’s turbodiesel engine with a Torque Split Deevice which combines or cuts off power with an electric motor. Ssangyong says tests have shown that fuel efficiency can be improved by 25%, while emissions can drop by 10% for nitrogen oxide and 15% for particulates.

     

  • Ssangyong may face liquidation without aid!

    In Cars, International News, Koreans, Ssangyong / By / / 8 comments

    Ssangyong C200 Concept
    The pretty decent-looking Ssangyong C200 Concept may not see the light of day if things go the way they are

    The first manufacturer to hit the dust in this depressing economy could be Chinese-owned South Korean manufacturer Ssangyong. There is a whole list of problems right now happening with the company, which makes trucks and SUVs based on Mercedes-Benz technology, such as the Ssangyong Actyon SUT.

    First of all, a huge amount of debt is goin to mature early this year, and Ssangyong needs a cash injection from its Chinese parent SAIC to be able to settle these debts. Things aren’t going that well for Ssangyong financially, as it recently posted its 4th consecutive quarterly loss of US$21 million.

    But before SAIC injects any cash into Ssangyong, it wants to make sure the cash will be well-spelt. Ssangyong must restructe its worker union and lower labour costs, which as usual is rejecting any changes, just like their overpaid counterparts in Detroit. Understandable of course, who would want to be paid less in this already tough times, but it’s better to have a job that pays less than no job at all?

    The workers union are also asking for the Chinese executives in Ssangyong to resign, obviously oblivious to the fact that a Chinese company owns them. SAIC is obviously not very happy about all of this at all, and there is talk that it may just pull out of Ssangyong and let it sink. Ssangyong has also tried to get aid from the South Korean government, but all it got was a response from the Ministery of Knowledge Economy that the government “is not planning direct financial support” for Ssangyong.

    Rather than go into bankruptcy for debt restructuring, an unnamed official from the Korea Development Bank says that it would liquidate the company instead, but no firm decision has been made on this matter.

     
 
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