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Ssangyong reports highest sales since 2002

Posted October. 20, 2016 07:23,   

Updated October. 20, 2016 07:31

한국어

Ssangyong Motor Co. said Wednesday that its sales during the first nine months of this year reached the highest in 14 years due to robust sales of the Tivoli sport utility vehicle (SUV). The automaker said that it sold a total of 111,683 cars during the January-September period, raking in total sales revenue of 2.6 billion won (2.4 million U.S. dollars) with operating profits of 20 billion won (17.8 million dollars). Ssangyong reported a net profit of 23 billion won (20.5 million dollars) for the first three quarters of this year, seeing black ink for the first time in nine years. The January-September sales were highest since the same period in 2002, when the company sold 117,125 units. Compared with the same period last year, Ssangyong saw sales rise by 7.5 percent and revenues by 8.8 percent. During the third quarter, the company sold 37,106 cars and reported 850.8 billion won (75.6 million dollars) and an operating loss of 7.3 billion won (6.5 million dollars).

Leading Ssangyong’s earning surprise was the Tivoli, which attracted younger drivers’ attention with a refined design as a leading model in the SUV market. Ssangyong sold 60,780 Tivolis in the global market during the first nine months of this year, up 39.7 percent from a year earlier. The Tivoli Air was another major driving force behind the robust sales, as the Tivoli and the Tivoli Air accounted for about 54 percent of Ssangyong’s total sales.

Ssangyong seems to have high expectations for the fourth quarter earnings. “We expect the Korando Sports with an upgraded powertrain and the Tovoli will become more popular in the global market,” a Ssangyong official said. “Our fourth quarter sales further increase.” Ssangyong CEO Choi Johng-sik said that the company is staying in the black due to the growth of the Tivoli band despite uncertainties in the domestic and overseas markets. “We will never fail to return to the black for the entire 2016,” he said.



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