Mahindra & Mahindra, the largest utility vehicle maker in the Indian auto market, is looking forward to further strengthen the position of its South Korean subsidiary in the world’s largest car market China. The company, which is currently finding it very tough to revive the sluggish sales of the Ssangyong vehicle in the Chinese market, aims to aggressively boost Ssangyong’s presence in China.
Speaking on the matter, Mr. Pawan Goenka, president of Mahindra's automotive and farm equipment sector said, "China is a high priority for Ssangyong, but not for Mahindra." He added that, "It's said that SAIC did not do justice to Ssangyong. And there's an apprehension, a feeling, a concern that we may be a repeat of the same. To remove that concern has taken time. And I can't say it's gone 100 percent."
Mahindra & Mahindra had acquired 70 percent stake in the bankrupted Ssangyong Motors last year. It is to be mentioned here that before being acquired by M&M, the Ssangyong Motors was acquired by the Chinese SIAC, incurring huge losses. While further elaborating the position of Ssangyong, Mr. Goenka said, "An important hurdle we faced was the 'ghost of the past' at Ssangyong. They were clearly badly bitten by SAIC."
