Ssangyong is considering manufacturing vehicles in India, a senior executive of the Mahindra & Mahindra-owned Korean automaker said.
Choi Jong-sik, Ssangyong’s vice-president of sales, told the Economic Times of India the the company plans to invest over US$1.2bn over the next three to five years which will help it roll out four new products.
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The automaker, which will launch its Rexton and Korando SUVs in India later this year, could manufacture and export smaller compact and subcompact SUVs being jointly developed with majority stakeholder Mahindra & Mahindra.
Choi said: “If you see manufacturers like Hyundai, they are exporting cars to many countries [including from India – ed]; so possibly, we may explore such opportunities in future. We know the cost of manufacturing is lower in India, but the quality should be of international standards.”
The Economic Times reported in October that M&M and Ssangyong were jointly developing a subcompact SUV, codenamed S101. A derivative of the same product is being considered for manufacturing in and exports from India.
M&M has started talks with Indian vendors for localisation of some key parts of the Rexton and Korando to bring down cost and suppliers are also participating in the development of the S101.
