By Park Jin-hai
Ssangyong will replace its aging Chairman sedan with a new luxury model in the latter half of this year, aiming to continue its sales drive in the premium sedan segment.
Tentatively named the “Chairman Kaiser,” Ssangyong’s new top-of-the-line sedan will compete with Hyundai’s Genesis EQ900 and Kia’s K9.
The company said it completed registration of the trademark in September.
“The top-trim Kaiser will be the luxury sedan that will have all our advanced technological knowhow that has not been seen in our other models,” a company official said.
The carmaker’s flagship luxury sedan tapped Mercedes E-Class technologies and gained great popularity on its 1997 debut.
But as the carmaker faced financial turmoil and ownership changes over the years, sales of the Chairman have plunged, from 8,253 cars in 2010 to 1,291 last year.
Together with the popular Tivoli SUV, industry watchers forecast the new luxury sedan may hail another leap forward for the carmaker. Ssangyong is expected to return to the black in the fourth quarter this year after eight quarters of deficit.
The Tivoli sold over 140,000 globally within just the first year after its debut.