SsangYong's saviour revealed at last! Preferred buyer chosen to save Korea's number-three car brand ahead of promised electric revolution: report

The SsangYong saga is all but over, with South Korea’s number-three automotive brand reportedly selecting its preferred buyer.

According to Nikkei Asia, SsangYong has picked a consortium led by South Korean electric vehicle (EV) startup Edison Motors and including a local investment fund, which is now on track to formally acquire it next month in a deal worth about $US260 million ($AU346 million).

As reported, financially troubled SsangYong’s future has been hanging in the balance since its current parent company, India's Mahindra & Mahindra, failed to attract an investor, leading to it being placed under receivership – for the second time in its history – in April.

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Currently specialising in trucks and buses, the Edison Motors-led consortium plans to setup a purpose-built parent company and increase capital in 2022 by issuing new shares to turn SssangYong around within three to five years.

Given its zero-emissions experience, Edison Motors is aiming to shift SsangYong’s focus from SUVs and utes with internal-combustion engines to EVs in the next decade.

SsangYong has already confirmed its EV plans, with its first such model, the Korando e-Motion mid-size SUV, due to go on sale in Europe before the end of 2021, while another SUV, codenamed J100, is set for next year, with a related ute will follow.

Time will tell if anything changes, but SsangYong did announce plans to shutter its only vehicle assembly plant in July, with its sale to help fund the construction of an all-new EV-specific factory, which will also be located in the Pyongtaek area.