Dong-A Motor (1954–1987) SsangYong originally started out as two separate companies; Ha Dong-hwan Motor Workshop (established in 1954) and Dongbang Motor Co (established in 1962). In mid-1963, the two companies merged into Ha Dong-hwan Motor Co. (). In 1964, Hadonghwan Motor Company started building
jeeps for the
US Army as well as
trucks and
buses. Beginning in 1976, Hadonghwan produced a variety of special purpose vehicles. After changing its name to Dong-A Motor () in 1977 and taking control of Keohwa in 1984, it was taken over by
SsangYong Business Group in 1986.
Gallery File:2000년대 초반 서울소방 소방공무원(소방관) 활동 사진 조명차.jpg|Dong-A DA 30 with Ha Dong-hwan body File:19950629삼풍백화점 붕괴 사고17.jpg|Firetrucks produced by SsangYong and its predecessor, Dong-A Motor File:Korea (27971985420).jpg|Ha Dong-hwan bus on the right
Keohwa (1981–1984) Keohwa, Ltd. () was a South Korean assembler of
Jeeps under licence, mainly for export markets. Its predecessor was the Jeep assembly joint venture of
Shinjin Motors and
American Motor Corporation (AMC), established in 1974. It was spun off as an independent company in 1981, after AMC left the venture and retired the permission to use the Jeep trade mark. In 1983, Jeeps from Keohwa started to be named as "Korando". In 1987, it acquired United Kingdom-based specialty car maker
Panther Westwinds. This resulted in the
Musso, which was sold first by Mercedes-Benz and later by SsangYong. SsangYong further benefited from this alliance, long after
Daimler-Benz stopped selling the Musso, producing a badge engineered version of the
Mercedes-Benz MB100, the
Istana and using Daimler designs in many other models, including the second-generation
Korando (engine and transmission), the
Rexton (transmission), the
Chairman H (chassis and transmission) and the
Kyron (transmission).
Takeover by Daewoo Motors and SAIC In 1997,
Daewoo Motors, now
GM Korea, bought a controlling stake from the SsangYong Group, only to sell it off again in 2000, because the
conglomerate ran into deep financial troubles. In late 2004, the Chinese automobile manufacturer
SAIC took a 51% stake of SsangYong Motor Company. In July – August 2006, workers went on strike for 7 weeks to protest SAIC's plans to lay off 554 employees. The strike cost SsangYong 380 billion Won and negotiations ended with workers accepting a wage freeze. In response to management's plan to cut 2,600 jobs, a third of the workforce, workers at Ssangyong's main factory stopped work and barricaded themselves inside in protest. One elderly worker died from a cerebral hemorrhage within the first 12 days. Strikers threw Molotov cocktails at police while police used electroshock weapons and allegedly dropped corrosive chemicals on the strikers. Company employees and analysts have also blamed SAIC for stealing technology related to hybrid vehicles from the company and failing to live up to its promise of continued investment. SAIC denied allegations of technology theft by the company's employees. However, SAIC was charged by the South Korean prosecutor's office for violating company regulations and the
South Korean law when it ordered and carried out the transfer of SsangYong's proprietary technology developed with
South Korean government funding over to SAIC researchers. In 2010,
Daewoo Motor Sales was dropped by
General Motors. The long-time dealership partner then signed a deal with the SsangYong Motor Company to supply new vehicles to sell (specifically the
Rodius,
Chairman W and
Chairman H), in return for the injection of ($17.6 million) into the car maker still recovering from bankruptcy. The deal is non-exclusive, meaning SsangYong will also sell vehicles through private dealers.
Takeover by Mahindra Automotive was SsangYong's first new model under Mahindra & Mahindra ownership In April 2010, the company released a statement citing interest of three to four local and foreign companies in acquiring SsangYong Motor Company, resulting in shares rising by 15%. The companies were later revealed to be
Mahindra & Mahindra, Ruia Group, SM Aluminum, Seoul Investments and French-owned
Renault Samsung Motors of South Korea. In August 2010, Mahindra & Mahindra Limited was chosen as the preferred bidder for SsangYong. The acquisition was completed in February 2011 and cost Mahindra US$463.6 million. In 2015, SsangYong and
KB Capital established a joint venture as the financial affiliate of the former, with the name SY Auto Capital. SsangYong had a 51% stake of the venture and KB Capital a 49%. That year, the company launched the
Tivoli, its first car after Mahindra acquisition. Within a year of Tivoli's launch, the company reported its first net profit in 9 years. In 2017, SsangYong sold 106,677 units in domestic sales and 37,008 units in exports, setting a record high in 14 years since 2003, when its annual domestic sales stood at 131,283 units. Out of this, the Tivoli alone contributed over 50,000 units of domestic sales for the company.
Mahindra XUV300, which was later launched in 2019 is built on Tivoli's platform, sharing many parts including several metal sheets. Mahindra also worked with its SsangYong subsidiary to introduce high performance electric vehicles in South Korea for mass-market sales. Mahindra and SsangYong increased their collaboration on engines and electric cars. On 21 December 2020, SsangYong Motor filed for receivership after Mahindra cut funding to SsangYong due to its outstanding debt. Ssang Yong Motor spokesperson stated that the company owes a total of 315.3 billion won (US$285 million) in overdue debt to financial institutions.
Failed takeover by Edison Motors In October 2021, it was reported that SsangYong was set to be acquired by electric bus and truck maker
Edison Motors (not to be confused with
Edison Motors of Canada) which would lead to SsangYong exiting receivership. Edison Motors planned to introduce SsangYong vehicles into the United States, Mexico, and Canada markets by the mid-2020s. Edison Motors also intended to phase-out production and new car sales of fossil fuel-powered SsangYong vehicles by 2030, in favor of producing and selling only electric-powered vehicles by the latter, if acquired. In January 2022, the South Korean courts "approved" Edison Motors' acquisition plan, although the company would be kept in receivership until the transaction were completed. In March 2022, SsangYong said the Edison Motors takeover was cancelled as the latter failed making acquisition payments for that month. In December 2021, SsangYong signed an agreement with the Chinese
BYD Auto to co-develop battery systems for its first
electric car (called U100) which would be launched in 2023.
Takeover by the KG Group In June 2022, the Seoul Bankruptcy Court opted for a consortium (KG Mobility) led by the
KG Group as the final bidder to take over SsangYong Motor. The consortium planned to pay 900 billion won ($699.5 million) for SsangYong. In August 2022, South Korea's Free Trade Commission approved KG Group acquisition of a 61% majority stake in SsangYong through the consortium. The acquisition payments were completed later that month. In September 2022, the Seoul Bankruptcy Court agreed to SsangYong's receivership exit plan, including issuing new shares in order to pay the creditors. The KG Group was set to start the process to exit SsangYong's receivership in early October and finish the acquisition process on (or before) 14 October, the SsangYong sale deadline. There also were plans to rename SsangYong. The Court approved the receivership exit on 11 November, finalising the consortium's acquisition. In December 2022, SsangYong's chairman Kwak Jae-sun said it planned to remove the "SsangYong" name entirely in March 2023 by modifying the
articles of association. The company was set to be renamed as "KG Mobility", adopting a new branding and using KG as its marque, to avoid the negative perception of the present name, bypassing its "painful image".
KG Mobility (2023–present) The company adopted the name KG Mobility in March 2023. As the company was renamed, its financial affiliate, SY Auto Capital, was also renamed as KG Capital. In May 2023, KG Group's KG Inicis acquired the 49% KG Capital stake hold by KB Capital and 6% of KG Mobility's share, leaving the latter with a 45% and KG Inicis with a 55%. EVX electric car In March 2023, KG Mobility launched a bid to acquire receivership-bound Edison Motors. In May, it was selected as the preferred bidder. In June, it was reported that SsangYong would be relaunched in Europe under the name KGM, with the cars continuing to wear SsangYong's dragon wing logo on the front. It is thought that the first KGM car in Europe will be a facelifted version of the SsangYong Tivoli, with their range of SUVs being rebranded soon after. In April 2023, KG Mobility launched KG S&C, a vehicle parts and conversion division. In November 2023, it was announced that the
Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) had rejected the application to register the brand name because it had already been registered in around 30 countries by Cihan Turan. This company is known as a
trademark troll. This refers to the registration of brand names without the intention of actually using them, but only in order to exploit the rights and collect the corresponding payments. KG Mobility appealed against this decision and said it would continue to use the KGM name in overseas markets until further notice. In June 2024, however,
The Korea Times reported that KG Mobility was facing difficulties in obtaining the trademark rights for the three-letter abbreviation "KGM". The Turkish Patent and Trademark Office even refused the registration of KGM, because the Turkish government-run
General Directorate of Highways, which is written as "Karayolları Genel Müdürlüğü" in Turkish, had been already using the same acronym. The registration of KG Mobility had also been rejected in the country due to Cihan Turan. Even in Korea, the trademark for KGM is also under KIPO's review, following an objection filed in 2023 by
KTM, an Austrian motorcycle manufacturer, which claims consumers are likely to be confused by the two similar acronyms. In August 2024, KG Mobility said it has established a sales subsidiary in Germany to strengthen its operations in the European market. In October 2024, KG Mobility announced that it has signed a strategic partnership co-operation agreement with China's
Chery Automobile. ==Corporate==