KG Mobility (formerly SsangYong Motor) has been steadily building brand awareness since launching its new representative brand, 'KGM,' in November last year. The new brand is applied to all vehicle models, nationwide sales dealerships, and service networks.
The KGM brand has been used globally since April last year. Its design language emphasizes simplicity by reflecting high readability and easy communication.
KG Mobility has been striving for business normalization until the conclusion of corporate restructuring proceedings in November 2022. KG Mobility, which celebrates its 70th anniversary this year, has a long history, starting as Hadonghwan Motor Company in 1954 and continuing as SsangYong Motor, a pioneer in Korean SUVs.
The KG Group has formulated a 'fade-out' strategy to connect SsangYong Motor's heritage to the KG Mobility identity. The fade-out technique used primarily in video editing is a function that gradually dims from bright to dark. In other words, instead of erasing the existing image of SsangYong Motor all at once, it gradually changes to the new image of the KGM brand naturally.
The KGM brand name was applied to Korean and export models in December last year. In addition, the wing emblem symbolizing 'KGM' was used as the basis to create a Brand Identity (BI), and all 200 nationwide sales networks and over 500 nationwide parts and service networks have completed the replacement.
Performance is gradually recovering as well. In fiscal year 2023, KG Mobility achieved sales of 116,099 units, revenue of $2.80 billion, operating profit of $3.70 million, and net profit of $888.3k. (All currency data converted from KRW to USD, as the rates on March 28, 2024) KG Mobility profited from pure operating performance alone for the first time in 16 years since 2007.
KG Mobility is also accelerating the expansion of its new car lineup. In February, to commemorate SsangYong Motor's 70th anniversary, it unveiled the coupe-type SUV 'J120' to capture the MZ generation through a YouTube promotional video. Following that, the pickup truck platform 'O100' model, which was highly popular among visitors at last year's Seoul Mobility Show, is also attracting considerable attention from customers active in outdoor activities. Recently, the interior and undercarriage were also revealed through prototypes.
In addition to the Korean market, efforts are also being made to enter overseas markets. They have achieved significant results by starting mass production in 2024 through strategic cooperation for Southeast Asia market entry with the Vietnam FUTA Group and product license and KD supply contracts with Saudi Arabia SNAM (Saudi National Automobiles Manufacturing Co.).
A KG Mobility official said, "Since the launch of the KGM brand last year, we have completed the renewal of all vehicle models, nationwide sales networks, and service networks in a short period. We will strive to successfully implement the fade-out strategy for the remaining period of this year by effectively embodying the symbolism of the new brand." He added, "Above all, we will try to present various new cars by embodying the pride of being the 'SUV Dynasty' and transforming into a comprehensive mobility company for the future."