Ssangyong Motor UK has celebrated the addition of 10 new dealerships in just six months as part of a “dramatic transformation over the past year”.

The Korean brand now has a franchised retail network of 65 sites and is eyeing continued growth with a target of reaching 90 franchised retail points by the end of 2020.

But Nick Laird, managing director at SsangYong Motors UK, is clearly pleased with how the “dramatic transformation” of the brand’s UK offering is shaping up.

Laird said: “This brand has undergone dramatic transformation over the past year with the implementation of a new growth strategy, the introduction of new, more exciting products, and, with the expected future development we have in mind, the focus on the expansion of our dealer network is of paramount importance to our customers – both existing and prospect.

“At the moment, some of our prospect customers, people who are genuinely interested in our brand and products, tell us that their nearest dealer is too far away from them, and more often than not, it is.

“Our focus on filling open points will help us and our dealers to generate more awareness for SsangYong, give buyers more confidence in the brand and sell more cars.”

SsangYong said in a statement issued today (May 20) that it has an “interesting approach to franchising”.

It claims that its proposition is unique in that it endeavours to change how prospects view operating a new-vehicle franchise by presenting no up-front fees, zero-cost signage, and no charges for special tools or computer diagnostics.

The 10 new retail operations which have embraced the approach to become Ssangyong Motor UK franchised retailers during the past six months are:

NT Shaw of Louth

Haven Motors, Horsham

Dales Automotive, Barnoldswick

Bassetts SsangYong, Swansea

DS Dalgleish, Coldstream

Seeker SsangYong, Chesterfield

Brenwood SsangYong, Kirkaldy

Platinum SsangYong, Frome

Rowcliffe SsangYong, Bridgewater

Oakwood SsangYong, Tyneside

Dave Rose, head of franchising for SsangYong Motors UK, said: “We want to make it easy for dealers to join our franchise, so we’ve removed unnecessary barriers.

“We’ve created new roles within our franchising team to support our growing network and the number of inbound enquiries that we have received from prospect dealers.

“To have introduced 10 new dealers in less than 6 months is an incredible achievement, and we have big plans in place to develop the network even further over the next 12 months – if we can add another 10 dealers to the network this year, we will be absolutely delighted.”

SsangYong Motors UK appointed Ian Wilson as dealer recruitment manager to oversee the growth of the brand’s dealer network last month.

He will be based in Scotland but will be responsible for securing new partners nationally.

Rose added: “In a nutshell, the priority is, and has been, to provide the right elements that form strong dealer partnerships, improve franchisee profitability and promote growth for both the dealer network and for SsangYong Motors UK.”