Choi Johng-sik, CEO of Ssangyong Motor, unveiled his ambition to turn the South Korea car maker into a profitable business in 2016.
At a press conference held on July 6 during his participation in Ssangyong Motor’s brand-new SUV Tivoli Diesel model launching event, Choi said, “To achieve a turnaround, annual sales should be more than 160,000-170,000 units. We will set it as our business goal for the year 2016.”
He stressed, “We are upbeat that we could sell more than 170,000 cars next year. We expect next year’s annual sales to reach the 200,000 mark.” This year’s annual sales are estimated at around 140,000-150,000 units.
Choi said, “The export market is tough this year due to unfavorable foreign exchange movements. The situation will likely get worse next year. The level of foreign exchange rates could determine many things for us.”
He added, “Given the limited domestic market, the export market is very important to us. We should be able to sell about 100,000 units at home and 70,000-80,000 in overseas markets.”
He expected the Tivoli Diesel to be a smash-hit model. The Tivoli Diesel is a diesel-fueled SUV which complies with the Euro 6 standard and is available at a relatively inexpensive price of 20.5 million won.
