Ssangyong teases image of its Torres SUV

Industry

Published: 17 May. 2022, 13:45 Updated: 17 May. 2022, 17:56

Ssangyong teases image of its Torres SUV

Teased image of SsangYong Motor's midsize SUV Torres. [SSANGYONG MOTOR]

SsangYong Motor, which is in search of a new owner, announced the name of a new vehicle it hopes will pull it out of its business rut.

The Korean automaker on Tuesday also gave a sneak peek at the exterior of the mid-sized SUV, called the Torres, which is currently under development.

The company has been working on vehicle under the project name “J100.”

According to the company, the name derives from the Torres del Paine National Park in Chile, recognized as as a biosphere reserve by UNESCO and often appearing on top destination lists.

SsangYong Motor said the Torres was designed with a “powered by toughness” concept.

The front of the vehicle is supposed to give a powerful look with a vertical radiator grill.

SsangYong Motor hopes that the Torres will liven up its SUV lineup, which also includes the compact Tivioli SUV, the mid-sized Korando and the large Rexton. In size, the Torres is between the Korando and Rexton.

Teased image of SsangYong Motor's midsize SUV Torres. [SSANGYONG MOTOR]

The company is hoping the Torres will pull it out of a long slump.

In the first three months of this year SsangYong Motor suffered an operating loss of 30.9 billion won, an improvement over last year's 84.7 billion won loss.

The company has roughly 548 billion won in debt aside from about 300 billion won owed to creditors such as the Korea Development Bank.

Last week the Seoul Bankruptcy Court acknowledged a consortium led by KG ETS as a preliminary bidder for the automaker.

SsangYong will accept more bids at the end of the month.

The consortium led by KG ETS, which includes Pavilion Private Equity, has reportedly proposed a 900 billion won ($701 million) purchase price.

A consortium led by Kanglim, a fire and tanker truck manufacturer that owns 12.4 percent share of Ssangbangwool, a leading underwear maker, is reported to be bidding 800 billion won.

BY MOON HEE-CHUL [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]