Back in April 2021, we told you about Mahindra's intentions to support SsangYong's EV business by supplying technology to SsangYong as per the Korean brand's requirement. Now, Mahindra has been developing electric SUVs and powertrain built on the new MESMA 350 platform, which will definitely come in handy for SsangYong to expand its EV portfolio. Now we know that Mahindra bought over SsangYong in 2010, when it was near bankruptcy.
But unfortunately, it wasn't able to turn the fortunes around of the Korean company and in fact was not able to find a buyer either, but now there are rumours doing the rounds that EV start-up, Edison Motors, is showing interest in South Korea's 4th largest automotive manufacturer. According to a report in Nikkei, Edison will be paying close to Rs. 1754 crore (170 million Euros) to Mahindra for the SsangYong brand. The agreement is expected to be finalised by the end of November this year. We have approached Mahindra for a statement but our email remains unanswered.
Ssangyong recently put out sketches of the X200 concept
The Indian auto giant has a 74.65 per cent stake in the Korean car company but has been looking to divest its stake in the firm since last year. For 2020, SsangYong's operating loss stood at 449 billion Won which is equivalent to $401.76 million. In 2019, the operating loss of the company was 282 billion Won. The company's revenue too fell 19 per cent to three trillion Won in 2020. The company is also under severe debt as its vehicles sales for 2020 fell 20 per cent, from a year earlier to 107,416 units.
Edison's current focus is on electric buses and commercial trucks. It sees Ssangyong as a potential foothold in the passenger car market.
