‘Political dispute makes Mahindra balk at investment in Ssangyong’

The head of Ssangyong Motor Co. said Tuesday the automaker’s parent company Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd. balked at investing in his company due to a political dispute over labor troubles at South Korea’s smallest automaker.

Lee Yoo-il, Ssangyong’s chief executive officer, told reporters that his company will hold a board of directors meeting later this month to discuss an investment decision meant to develop new vehicle models.

Lee did not disclose details of the planned investment.

His comment came days after ruling and opposition lawmakers agreed to form a consultative body to resolve labor troubles stemming from the automaker’s mass layoffs of its workers in 2009 when it was put into court receivership.

Some 1,900 Ssangyong employees chose to retire, 159 were dismissed and 455 were forced to take unpaid leave.

The automaker, whose majority stake was acquired by Indian automotive group Mahindra & Mahindra March 2011, agreed last month to reinstate all those who had been on unpaid leave as its sales were recovering.

Ssangyong Motor has set a sales target of 149,300 cars this year, compared with 120,717 units sold a year earlier.

Also Tuesday, the automaker unveiled the Korando Turismo, a diesel-powered multi leisure vehicle, as it seeks to meet growing consumer demand for outdoor leisure activities.

The 11-seater vehicle is equipped with an e-XDi200 diesel engine, which produces a maximum 155 horsepower.

The carmaker said it plans to debut the Turismo at the Geneva Motor Show next month, and plans to sell 10,000 units at home and 10,000 units abroad this year. (Yonhap News)