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The SsangYong name is officially gone in Australia as the local distributor confirms it will "fully embrace" its new KGM branding from June 1, 2025.
The SsangYong name will disappear from Australian showrooms next month, as the Korean carmaker's new KGM branding is fully adopted.
Globally, SsangYong was renamed to KGM two years ago when it was acquired by its KG Group parent company, but it retained the name in Australia with a rebrand to 'KGM SsangYong' on October 1, 2024.
Less than 12 months later, it has removed SsangYong from its name to become known as KGM Australia from June 1, 2025.
The decision to continue in Australia as 'KGM SsangYong' was understood to transfer any brand cachet the old name had developed since it first arrived in Australia in the late 1990s – but the brand said it would now "fully embrace the KGM branding" with the launch of its new Actyon SUV.
"It’s timely we fully embrace the KGM branding here in Australia and celebrate the latest vehicle design language with a brand logo re-fresh, to align with KGM’s global identity and better reflect our commitment to design excellence," KGM Australia managing director Joseph Lee said.
KGM Australia's slogan will be 'Korean Built to Last', the brand said in a media release.
The Actyon will join KGM's local line-up alongside the Musso ute, and Rexton, Torres and Korando SUVs, which retain SsangYong's winged logo – but not SsangYong badging.
Details of Model Year 2025 (MY25) or MY26 versions of the Musso, Rexton and Korando have not been confirmed, with MY24 cars currently in run-out.
A KGM Australia spokesperson told Drive these models will remain under the KGM SsangYong brand until the next model-year change.
Following the Actyon, KGM's next model launch will be the all-electric Torres EVX SUV expected in local showrooms later this year, while the Musso EV electric ute – based on the Torres EVX – has been locked-in for Australia.
SsangYong first launched in in Australia in 1996 with the Musso wagon sold in Mercedes-Benz dealerships and later retailed under the Daewoo brand from 1998 to 2002.
The Korean brand fully entered the Australian market in 2003 under a third-party distributor, which transferred distribution rights to Sime Darby in 2008, then Ateco in 2012.
SsangYong entered a hiatus in Australia at the end of 2016, however, it re-launched under its current factory-owned distributor in 2018.
Jordan is a motoring journalist based in Melbourne with a lifelong passion for cars. He has been surrounded by classic Fords and Holdens, brand-new cars, and everything in between from birth, with his parents’ owning an automotive workshop in regional Victoria. Jordan started writing about cars in 2021, and joined the Drive team in 2024.
