Back in 2011, Mahindra purchased SsangYong after the latter entered bankruptcy protection a few months prior. One decade later, the Indian group has made the decision to pass the South Korean moniker over to another company.
According to Nikkei, Edison Motors is currently showing interest in South Korea’s fourth-largest automotive manufacturer. It is understood that the EV start-up will be paying close to R3,7 billion to Mahindra for the SsangYong brand.
It is understood that SsangYong is currently under court receivership and needs court approval for the sale. SsangYong and the consortium are expected to finalise an agreement by the end of November.
Founded in 2015, Edison’s current focus is on electric buses and commercial trucks. It sees the brand as a potential foothold in the passenger car market and aims to mass-produce passenger EVs at the automaker’s only automobile factory in Pyeongtaek.
SsangYong was a core unit of the group which was a South Korean conglomerate that was broken up by the Asian financial crisis of 1997. It was then acquired by China’s SAIC Motor in 2004, then, as mentioned, by India’s Mahindra&Mahindra after entering a court receivership in 2009.
During this time, the brand has struggled to make a lasting recovery. Its output dropped 20 per cent in 2020 to about 106 000 vehicles, and it filed to enter its current receivership in December.
