SsangYong Comes Back in Germany

The South Koreans over at SsangYong went through what was surely their biggest challenge as the carmaker experienced a huge drop in sales and even stepped under bankruptcy protection under the effect of the global recession. But things are getting a lot better for SsangYong, so the brand is working on its return to Germany where it plans to introduce a total of four models.

SsangYong has already established a base of operations in Germany in Kerpen near Cologne, Autonews writes, and hired Ulrich Mehling to head its local operations.

''Our primary goal will be to quickly establish a network of dealers,'' Mehling said in a statement. "At the moment we are in negotiations with a large number of existing car distributors.''

Two years ago, SsangYong worked with up to 110 dealers in Germany, but this time the company has more optimistic goals. It intends to set up a new dealership network of 150 stores by 2012 that will be in charge of selling the company's local four models - the Rexton SUV, the Rodius minivan, the Actyon crossover and the Korando small SUV.

The Korando is already available across Europe, with prices beginning at EUR21,990. The base model 2.0 e-Xdi with front-wheel drive, in C spec starts at EUR21,990 (GBP18,750), while the same model costs EUR23,990 (GBP20,430) in its Classy trim level. Expect the price to grow by EUR2,000 is you want your Korando to come with a six-speed automatic transmission.

SsangYong is also believed to prepare three new models for the next four years, all of which are supposed to refresh its lineup and help the company get back on track. One of the models is likely to debut at the Frankfurt Auto Show this year, so we'll keep you up to date with the topic.