Indian’s Mahindra seeks to give up control of struggling unit SsangYong

New Delhi

Mahindra & Mahindra plans to give up control of struggling South Korean unit SsangYong Motor, the Indian automaker’s managing director said on Friday, as it looks to exit loss-making ventures amid the coronavirus pandemic. “SsangYong needs a new investor. We are working with the company to see if we can secure investment,” Pawan Goenka told reporters.

Mahindra earlier reported a consolidated net loss of 19.55 billion rupees ($258 million), compared with a net profit a year ago. Mahindra, which owns a 75 per cent stake in SsangYong, rescued the sport-utility vehicle (SUV) maker from near-insolvency in 2010 but has struggled to revive its fortunes.

The company said in April it would not invest further in SsangYong. “If a new investor comes on board, that automatically takes our stake down, or they may even buy our stake,” Mahindra’s deputy managing director, Anish Shah said.