SsangYong started out building buses in 1954, and its name means twin dragons. Since 2023 the company has been called KG Mobility, and its brand is KGM.
- Country
-
South Korea - Active
- Since 1954
- Founded by
- Ha Dong-hwan
- Website
- Official website ↗
A bus workshop with many names
Before there were SsangYong SUVs, there were buses. In January 1954 a small coachbuilding shop opened in Korea under the name Ha Dong-hwan Motor Workshop. Its earliest model in KGM’s own product archive is a 41-seat HDH bus from 1955, and in 1967 the company shipped large buses to Vietnam and Brunei, which KGM counts as a first for Korea.
The off-road side of the family grew up next door. Shinjin built Korea’s first civilian jeep in 1969, and in 1974 set up a joint venture with America’s AMC to build Jeep models. That business was renamed Geohwa in 1981 and, according to KGM, introduced the Korando name to replace the AMC Jeep brand. Meanwhile Ha Dong-hwan Motor had become Dong-A Motor in 1977, and in December 1984 Dong-A bought Geohwa.
Then came the name everyone remembers. The SsangYong Group took control of Dong-A in November 1986, and in March 1988 the company became SsangYong Motor. In Korean, Ssangyong means twin dragons. That name lasted 35 years.
New owners, same dragons
Few car companies have changed hands as often. In 1991 SsangYong signed a technical cooperation agreement with Germany’s Mercedes-Benz. Daewoo took over in January 1998, China’s SAIC in October 2004 and India’s Mahindra in March 2011. In November 2022 the KG Group became the owner, and in March 2023 shareholders approved a new company name: KG Mobility.
Three circles and a pair of wings
The emblem most Koreans connect with SsangYong was filed in January 1992, and KGM’s timeline gives it a lovely name: the Three Harmonized Circle. It is a large circle with two smaller shapes inside. KGM’s current heritage pages don’t explain the symbolism, but Korean press reports agree on it. The outer circle stands for infinite space. The two inner shapes form the letters SS, and they also stand for the twin dragons in the company name.
For years SsangYong ran two badges at once. At home the cars wore the three circles. Export models carried a winged emblem, which the Korean business daily eToday described in 2014 as shaped like the wing mark of the Chairman luxury sedan. From 2015 the wings started to appear on some Korean models too, beginning with special versions of the Tivoli, and the G4 Rexton of 2017 wore them from launch. In November 2020 SsangYong turned back, putting the three circles on the facelifted Rexton and the revived Tivoli Air.
The rename to KG Mobility did not wipe the dragons away overnight. In late 2023 the new models still wore the wing emblem at the front, with KG MOBILITY lettering on the back, a gradual change the Korean press called a fade-out strategy. In November 2023 the company launched KGM as its brand, and in November 2024, according to KGM’s timeline, it formally declared the KGM brand identity together with the slogan Enjoy with Confidence. KG Mobility remains the legal company name, while KGM is the name used for everything else.
Astral Aura and grey
KGM’s official colour guide lists two brand colours of its own: KGM Astral Aura (Pantone 19-3830) and KGM Light Gray. The colours of the KG Group, including KG Royal Purple, Violet, Magenta, Orange and Yellow, can be added as accents.
From buses to Korean can do
The model line tells the same story as the badges: buses first, then jeeps, then SUVs built with a lot of help from Mercedes-Benz.
Landmark SsangYongs, decade by decade
- 1955: HDH bus. A 41-seat bus and the earliest model in KGM’s product archive.
- 1983: Geohwa Korando. KGM’s archive spells out the name as Korean can do. In 1990 a Korando won the Cyprus Rally, which KGM calls the first international rally win for a Korean car.
- 1993: Musso. In 1994 it won the four-wheel-drive class of the Pharaohs Rally and went on sale in Europe.
- 1997: Chairman. A luxury sedan, following a 1993 agreement to build SsangYong’s own sedan with Mercedes-Benz technology.
- 2001: Rexton. According to KGM Motors UK, the first generation also used Mercedes-Benz technology.
- 2015: Tivoli. A small crossover that went on to finish the Dakar Rally in 2018.
- 2023: Torres EVX. An electric SUV. When the company was renamed, it said the new KG logo would go on this model.
Its rivals at home include Hyundai and Kia. For more on how badges like the three circles are drawn, see how car logos are designed.
Frequently asked questions
What does the name SsangYong mean?
Ssangyong means twin dragons in Korean. The carmaker took the name from the SsangYong Group, which bought it in 1986, and became SsangYong Motor in 1988.
What do the three circles in the SsangYong logo stand for?
As explained in the Korean press, the large outer circle stands for infinite space, and the two shapes inside form the letters SS and represent the twin dragons. KGM calls the emblem, filed in January 1992, the Three Harmonized Circle.
Is SsangYong now called KGM?
Yes. The company was renamed KG Mobility in March 2023 after the KG Group took over, and it launched KGM as its brand name in November 2023.
Why did SsangYong have a winged badge?
The wing emblem started out on export models, while cars sold in Korea wore the three circles. From 2015 the wings spread to some Korean models too, starting with special versions of the Tivoli.
Twin dragons, by the numbers
- Founded
- 1954
- Founder
- Ha Dong-hwan
- Country
- South Korea
- Headquarters
- Pyeongtaek, South Korea
- Parent company
- KG Group
- Current emblem
- The KGM wordmark; the KGM brand was launched in 2023 and its identity declared in 2024
- Known for
- Rugged SUVs and pick-ups such as the Korando, Musso and Rexton
- Website
- Official website ↗
