[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] Ssangyong Motor is accelerating efforts by engaging with Chinese companies to develop pure electric vehicle models.
According to the automotive industry on the 16th, six officials from BYD, China's top electric vehicle company, visited Ssangyong Motor's Pyeongtaek plant from the 21st of last month to the 15th of this month to investigate the basic status for joint electric vehicle development.
Currently, Ssangyong Motor is preparing to launch the electric vehicle E100 by the first half of next year and is developing a mid-size electric sports utility vehicle (SUV) 'U100 (project name)' targeting 2022.
The U100 is Ssangyong Motor's second electric vehicle. However, while the earlier E100 is based on the compact SUV Korando, the U100 is a pure electric vehicle model based on the SUV J100.
The visit by BYD officials was to discuss technical cooperation and assess the status for the development of the U100. BYD officials received an introduction to the development status of the U100 from Ssangyong Motor and reportedly conducted parts compatibility tests. If Ssangyong Motor partners with BYD, it is expected to receive core electric vehicle technologies such as battery packs, control devices, and electric motors.
However, no concrete decisions such as a memorandum of understanding (MOU) have been made yet. This is because Ssangyong Motor is currently negotiating new investments and acquisitions with the U.S. automobile distributor HAAH Automotive Holdings. Therefore, new model development is expected to fully commence only after the negotiations are finalized. Additionally, Ssangyong Motor is reportedly considering cooperating with various companies for pure electric vehicle development.
If Ssangyong Motor completes acquisition negotiations with HAAH and pure electric vehicle development is fully underway, additional liquidity support from creditors is also expected to be possible.
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