SEOUL - Tiny Ssangyong Motor Co., already pumped up by a landmark joint venture with Mercedes-Benz AG that will put it into car production, has a major hit on its hands in its bread-and-butter sport-utility business.
The company, which has long been overshadowed by rival Hyundai Precision Co. in the local sport-utility market, has set the stage for a dramatic comeback with its new Musso.
Since the Musso was introduced Aug. 12, buyer response has all but overwhelmed Ssangyong. The company predicted it would sell 3,500 to 4,000 Mussos in the final quarter of 1993, but it booked 4,000 orders in the first 10 days.
That order backlog has since grown to 12,000, company executives say.
'It's just unprecedented: We've broken all (Korean) sales records for 4x4s,' Ssangyong vice president Yun Chul-Koo said in an interview. 'As far as customer response is concerned, it's a resounding success.'
Customers will have to be patient, however. Labor strife - which has fallen just shy of an outright strike - has crippled production, and buyers face a several-month wait for delivery.
'We've never even reached 100 units a day,' Yun disclosed.
More important, clearing up the backlog of domestic orders will delay export shipments.
Ssangyong has lined up dealers in the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain and Cyprus. With the exception of Germany, Europe is fairly well covered, Yun said.
The question of whether to set up an independent network or have the Musso distributed through Mercedes-Benz in Germany will have to be decided in 1994, he said.
In Ssangyong's best-case scenario, Mercedes would offer to carry the product in Germany and in overseas markets where Ssangyong lacks representation.
Meanwhile, discussions are focusing on bringing the price down. The Musso sells for 18 million won, or about $22,000.
'This is not a cheap car,' Yun said. 'We will have to make it cost-competitive, but we know we can make a quality product.'
Yun said two major joint projects with Mercedes are under way: a light commercial vehicle based on the Mercedes 100 truck, and a car, probably based on the Mercedes C class.
He said production of the light truck will begin in January 1995. It will be available as a passenger van, cargo van and pickup.
Scheduled first-year production of 24,000 units is expected to increase quickly to 50,000 a year, Yun said. Of that total, Mercedes will take 15,000 a year for sale as Mercedes; the rest will be sold in Korea badged as Ssangyongs.
The car - Ssangyong's first - is due for a mid-1996 launch with initial capacity of 50,000 units.
