Ssangyong Motor has just launched its popular SUV, the Actyon in Europe. This compact SUV debuted last Wednesday in Germany which is another fresh signal that the carmaker is making a successful turnaround in the most competitive market in Europe. In the German city of Wiesbaden, Ssangyong held an event to launch the New Korando C, with some 140 journalists and retailers from 19 European countries in attendance. With the Europe launch, the latest-generation Korando C will go on sale globally in the coming weeks through the company’s dealership network in some 1,300 countries. Its unveiling in China was held on Sept. 27 2013.
The Korando C is the key model in Ssangyong’s turnaround efforts that started in 2010 when the company was acquired by India’s Mahindra & Mahindra. Rebranding Korea’s oldest car model, which dates back to 1974, the company attached ‘C’ to add a classy, comfortable and clean image to it. Since then, the revamped Korando C has sold about 130,000 units thus far. Ssangyong said it aims to elevate its global sales to some 80,000 units per year.
The new launch comes at a time when the worst recession in a decade has hit the European car market. The company, however, is confident about its prospects, as the compact SUV market has continued to grow more than 12% every year in the region.
Ssangyong, in partnership with Mahindra, is also currently working on a new project “X100,” a compact SUV equipped with 1.6-liter engine, which is expected to hit the market as early in the latter half of 2014. In the 9-months this year, the company sold 104,042 vehicles globally, a 21.4% increase from the same period last year.
