The planned name change was confirmed by the chairman of KG Group, which bought automaker SsangYong.
With automaker SsangYong now quite successful in the Czech Republic, things haven’t exactly been looking rosy in recent months. The automaker searched for a new owner for a long and complicated period before finally ending up in the ownership of the KG Group. While he saved the automaker, he has plans to make a pretty fundamental change with it.
There have long been rumors that there may be a name change, which, according to CarExpert’s Australian colleagues, has now been confirmed by Kwak Jae-sun, chairman of the KG Group, under which the automaker now falls. The original SsangYong name will replace the KG Mobility name, new models will therefore leave the factory with the KG logo.
„We decided on a new name to take full advantage of the power of SsangYong Motor Company,Kwak is reported to have said at an event organized by the Korea Automobile Journalist Association. “Under the name SsangYong, the company has supporters, but also a painful image. The new cars will be presented as KG, but the history of car manufacturing will never change and will have the same conditions,Australian colleagues quote KG Group chairman.
„Through a company survey, the company found that there is consensus among employees to rebrand, and we are now pursuing a new company name in line with the trend of electrification,said a representative of SsangYong Motor.
It won’t be the first time automaker SsangYong has changed its name. It was founded in 1954 under the name of Ha Dong-Hwan Motor, after merger with Dongbang Motor Co, it was renamed as Ha Dong-hwan Motor Co and later changed its name to Dong-A Motor.
In 1986 the car manufacturer was taken over by the SsangYong group, which gave it its current name. Between 1997 and 2000 the SsangYong brand was controlled by Daewoo, which sold some models under its name. However, there were rumors of a name change even in the recent past when the brand was owned by Mahindra.
Australian colleagues recall a 2014 Business Standard article in which Yoo-il Lee, then president of SsangYong Motor, said: “Our image in Korea is quite negative. In many international markets, customers also mispronounce our name, and some have the wrong idea that we are a Chinese brand.“Already at that time, the brand was considering a name change.
The name change now seems almost certain, however, according to Australian colleagues, according to an article in the Korean magazine Pulse News, the change still needs to be approved by shareholders, which is expected in April.
