SsangYong Q2 losses balloon on weak sales

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SsangYong Q2 losses balloon on weak sales

SsangYong Motor’s net losses ballooned in the second quarter compared to a year earlier due to weak sales in Korea.

The local unit of the Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra said in a statement Monday that its net loss amounted to 51.5 billion won ($43.5 million) between April and June this year, up from a 5.4 billion won loss posted a year earlier.

Sales fell 0.7 percent from 942 billion won to 935 billion won while operating losses increased from 7.5 billion won to 49.1 billion won in the same period.

SsangYong said its losses widened as it expanded investment into new products and technology development, adding sales costs also increased due to intensifying market competition.

Looking at the first half of the year, SsangYong sold a total of 70,277 vehicles, up 4.7 percent from 67,110 units sold a year ago. The automaker’s revenue grew 6.7 percent to reach a record 1.87 trillion won.

SsangYong said its success in the first half was largely attributable to the success of new models, like an upgraded Tivoli SUV, which launched last month.

“Despite the unfavorable market situation, the company has achieved its highest first half revenue in its history based on the launches of three new models,” said Yea Byung-tae, CEO of SsangYong Motor, in a statement.

“In the second half of this year, we will further expand sales and boost meaningful growth with additional lineups.”

In a bid to recover from its disappointing second quarter performance, SsangYong said it will launch a new gasoline-powered Korando in the local market in August and deepen its reputation as an SUV-specialized automaker.

BY KO JUN-TAE [ko.juntae@joongang.co.kr]
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