Ssangyong Motor Reports Operating Loss of 281.9 Billion KRW Last Year... Fourfold Increase Compared to Previous Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Suyeon Woo] Ssangyong Motor is deepening its slump by recording an operating loss of 281.9 billion KRW last year. This marks the third consecutive year of losses since 2017, with last year's loss expanding more than fourfold compared to the previous year.

On the 7th, Ssangyong Motor announced that its operating loss last year was 281.9 billion KRW, 4.3 times higher than the previous year's 64.2 billion KRW. During the same period, sales amounted to 3.623882 trillion KRW, down 2.2% year-on-year, and net loss reached 341.364 billion KRW, expanding by 452%.

The operating loss exceeding 280 billion KRW is the largest deficit since Ssangyong Motor entered court receivership in 2009 (293.4 billion KRW loss). Although it returned to profitability in 2016 thanks to the popularity of its best-selling model Tivoli, it has reverted to losses since then, marking three consecutive years of deficits.

Ssangyong Motor explained the expansion of last year's operating loss by factors such as increased costs due to stricter emission regulations, increased operating expenses from intensified sales competition, higher depreciation expenses from new model launches, and recognition of impairment losses on tangible assets.

SsangYong Motor Tivoli

The biggest reason for the hit to Ssangyong Motor's performance last year was the slump of its main model, Tivoli. Last year, Tivoli production dropped about 22% year-on-year to 44,641 units. This was due to the mass launch of new competing models in the same class as Tivoli, such as Hyundai's Venue and Kia's Seltos, starting in the second half of last year.

Also, despite maintaining the title of domestic sales leader for four consecutive years with new models like the new Korando, sluggish exports held the company back. Ssangyong Motor's exports, which had increased to around 70,000 units in 2014, shrank to about 25,000 units last year.

As this slump continued, Ssangyong Motor recently prepared a proactive self-rescue plan for business normalization. Senior executives from the major shareholder Mahindra visited Korea to express their investment intentions and held meetings with the government.

A Ssangyong Motor official said, "We plan to focus all of the company's capabilities on enhancing competitiveness, including achieving sales targets, fundamental structural improvements, and visualizing global cooperation plans for future responses."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.