CarBrandLogos archive · SsangYong · 1983
A licensed Jeep that became Korea's longest-running SUV nameplate.
Discover the storyPhoto: Alexander Migl · CC BY-SA 4.0
The story
Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the SsangYong Korando, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.
01
The Korando's ancestry runs back to Jeeps built in Korea under licence, first by Shinjin and then by Keohwa, which began building its own version in 1983. Dong-A Motors took over in 1984 and SsangYong acquired the business in 1988, inheriting a short-wheelbase off-roader and a name derived from a slogan about Korea being able to do it.
SsangYong Korando Fun Heck · Thomas doerfer · CC BY-SA 3.0
02
The second generation of 1996 was the interesting one. SsangYong had a technology agreement with Mercedes-Benz, so the car used Mercedes-derived engines and transmissions in a body-on-frame chassis, wrapped in a rounded three-door body with a distinctive glasshouse that looked like nothing else on the market. It sold in Europe as a cheap, tough alternative to a Land Rover Freelander, and its mechanical stamina earned it a following among people who actually towed things.
SsangYong Korando front · Rudolf Stricker · Attribution
03
In 2010, under Indian ownership, the name returned on something entirely different: a monocoque compact crossover with front or four-wheel drive, aimed at the Qashqai rather than at green lanes. That car and its successors have carried the brand through its several changes of owner, and the badge now reads KGM.
SsangYong Korando rear · Rudolf Stricker · Attribution
At a glance
Produced
1983–2006Body
3-door SUVTechnical specification
Badge at launch
This is the marque emblem that accompanied the Korando's era. The full identity timeline is documented in the brand archive.
Explore the logo history →Contemporaries from the 1980s
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