KGM’s UK importer believes the Korean brand is set to hugely benefit from investment made by its new owner in recent years – but will target steady and sustainable growth instead of simply chasing sales volume.
KGM, formerly known as Ssangyong Motors, focuses on rugged SUV and pick-up trucks. In the past decade, it has been owned by the Ssangyong conglomerate, Chinese car maker SAIC and Indian giant Mahindra, but has struggled due to an inconsistent product cycle and a lack of investment. It was bought and rebranded in 2022 by the KG Group, a Korean conglomerate with significant interests in steel and chemicals.
The first signs of fresh investment from KG have now been seen with the arrival of the Actyon SUV, which will be followed by the end of next year by the O100 electric pick-up (set to inherit the Musso name in the UK), Korando-sized KR10 and bold F100 SUVs.
“It’s really good to see that the KG Group has invested and pushed a lot behind developing the product,” said KGM UK boss Kevin Griffin. “The Actyon is a sign of its growing influence. We’ve been shouting for years that we wanted to see development, and progress in our vehicles. The owners are now pushing the technology and design forward, which is brilliant.”
KGM returned to profit last year as its global sales rose to 164,000, up from 84,496 in 2021.
Sales were largely static in Korea, and its goal of 250,000 in 2026 will depend largely on expanding into new global markets.
“The goal is to expand into right-hand-drive markets like Australia and Japan; then, because it’s not just us, that brings the cost down, which is a good thing,” said Griffin.
KGM is registered as a small-volume manufacturer in the UK, which means it can’t sell more than 2499 cars and 2499 commercial vehicles per year. While this makes it exempt from the UK’s zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, it still has CO2 targets to hit.
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