Ssangyong plans to remodel No.1 assembly line

Ssangyong Motor Co. said Sunday it will close one of the production lines at its lone domestic plant for three-and-a-half months beginning this week in a bid to improve its overall production efficiency through assembly line rearrangements.

Ssangyong plans to remodel the No. 1 assembly line at its plant in Pyeongtaek, about 70 km south of Seoul, to produce "C200," a new, small-sized sports utility vehicle scheduled to hit the market in the second half of the year, company officials said.

The smallest automaker in South Korea won court approval for bankruptcy protection in early February.

During the renovation, No. 1 assembly line workers will take a leave with 70 per cent of their ordinary salary paid, said the officials.

The C200, which debuted at the Paris Motor Show last October, is considered vital to the survival of the financially troubled Ssangyong.

Ssangyong, a unit of China's Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC), was placed under court receivership on Feb. 6. Upon court receivership, SAIC lost management control of Ssangyong, but retained its 51-percent stake in the company.

The carmaker has also decided to produce its four SUV models -- Actyon, Actyon Sports, Kyron and Rexton -- on the No. 3 assembly line of the Pyeongtaek plant in another move to restructure its production system.