SsangYong Motor Ponders Move into China, U.S.

South Korea’s SsangYong Motor Co. tells Bloomberg News it is evaluating possible moves into the Chinese and U.S. markets, in part to offset an expected sales decline in the U.K. following the kingdom’s vote to exit the EU.

The news comes as SsangYong prepares to reenter the Philippine market after an eight-year absence. In December the company signed distributor SsangYong Berjaya Auto Philippines to introduce its Tivoli small SUV in the country. SsangYong also presented several other models during the Manila auto show in April.

The company is struggling with the effect of a 16% gain in the Korean won against the British pound sterling since the Brexit vote in late June. The company says its sales in the U.K. surged 44% in the first seven months of 2016, generating 8% of the company’s global volume.

SsangYong became a unit of Indian SUV-maker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. in 2011. The company currently sells only a few imports in China and none in the U.S.