Ssangyong Motor

Ssangyong Motor Co., which is eyeing the North American market for growth, will go by a new name and logo as early as next year.

“We are preparing to have the public participate in changing the corporate name and logo,” said an official at Ssangyong Motor Monday. “We are thinking of an entirely new name that carries the image of a Korean company but will also work in the overseas market,” he said.

In efforts to create a consensus on changing the brand name, the company recently held a briefing session for its union members. The company is also conducting an overseas survey on possible candidates for the new corporate name, company officials said.

Ssangyong plans to use the new corporate name and logo with the release of a new model as early as next year ahead of its expected foray into the North American market in 2017.

This will be the fourth name for Ssangyong, whose ownership has changed seven times over the past 60 years from South Korea to US to China and recently India.

Ssangyong Motor started off as Ha Dong-hwan Motor Workshop in 1954. After changing its name to Dong-A Motor in 1977, it was taken over by Ssangyong Business Group in 1986 and changed its name to SsangYong Motor but its misfortunes didn’t end there.

In 1998, the company was taken over by Daewoo Group, and shared its fate with U.S. General Motors, only to be sold off again in 2000 as the conglomerate dissolved due to deep financial troubles.

In 2004, the Chinese automobile manufacturer SAIC bought a controlling stake in SsangYong Motor. In January 2009, the company was put into receivership after posting a $75 million loss which was followed by a 77-day strike by workers a few months later.

In 2011, India’s Mahindra and Mahindra acquired a battered Ssangyong Motor and it has been turning the company around ever since.

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