Mahindra may not bring Ssangyong to the US

Mahindra & Mahindra may not bring Korea’s Ssangyong Motor Co to the United States, and instead focus on China.

Mahindra rescued Ssangyong from near-insolvency in 2011. It acquired a stake of just over 70%, but South Korea's No. 4 car maker has struggled to break even, reporting a net loss of $51.6 million for 2015.

Making cars in China means lower prices, and Goenka said it made sense to focus on expanding sales in an existing market before going to the United States and building a distribution network from the ground up.

"China is easier to look at right now because Ssangyong already has a presence there. We have some traction and need to ramp up our products for local manufacturing," Goenka told Reuters.

Boosting overseas sales has taken on a greater urgency for Ssangyong due to slumping sales in Russia, once its biggest export market contributing more than 20% of total shipments.

Image credit: Indiatimes