KG Mobility is anticipating a giant gross sales rebound this yr with two extremely anticipated fashions, the hybrid model of the Torres SUV and the Musso EV pickup truck, each slated to hit the market in March. The determined injection of recent fashions comes after the Korean automaker’s gross sales within the home market plummeted to a 12-year low final yr, primarily as a result of absence of hybrid fashions as demand for these environmentally pleasant autos spikes in distinction to slumping EV purchases. “KG Mobility plans to launch each the Torres Hybrid and the long-awaited Musso EV in March following the latest revelation of the Korean authorities’s pointers for EV subsidies,” a KG Mobility govt instructed the Korea JoongAng Every day. The chief added that releasing each fashions in the identical month is a part of efforts to spice up gross sales because the Setting Ministry unveiled this yr’s EV subsidy pointers in early January, nearly two months sooner than common. The Torres Hybrid is anticipated to hold a 1.5-liter gasoline engine, assisted by BYD-made 1.8 kilowatt-hour lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, although detailed specs haven’t been disclosed. The anticipated gasoline economic system is 16 kilometers per liter, barely greater than Kia’s best-selling Sorento Hybrid SUV, which recorded 15.7 kilometers per liter. The Musso EV electrical truck, erstwhile identified by the undertaking identify O100, is believed to hold 80.7 kilowatt-hours of battery manufactured by China’s BYD. The car, which shall be Korea’s first-ever electrical truck, can run as much as 401 kilometers per single cost, in line with its certification outcomes shared by Setting Ministry. KG Mobility hopes the throw-in comes because the automaker has seen gross sales sharply drop because the success of the petrol-engined Torres SUV two years in the past. KG Mobility bought 47,046 vehicles in Korea final yr, down 25.7 % on yr and the primary time its gross sales fell under 50,000 since 2012. The corporate launched the Actyon SUV in August, the primary new car underneath KG since its acquisition of debt-ridden SsangYong Motor, however gross sales did not dwell as much as expectations. Demand for hybrid autos is rising in Korea. Roughly 1.63 million autos had been bought in Korea in 2024, down 6.5 % on yr, however gross sales of hybrid vehicles jumped 32 % throughout the identical interval. “Hybrid variants of the Torres and electrical vans will launch in European markets quickly, however the particular timeline has not been determined but,” stated a spokesperson for KG Mobility. KG Mobility additionally goals to roll out the KR10, the successor of the Korando mid-size SUV, as early because the second half of the yr. The mannequin will presumably be out there in all three engine choices: gasoline, hybrid and electrical.
BY SARAH CHEA ((e mail protected))
