Ssangyong Motor announces big Vietnam order

Struggling South Korean automaker Ssangyong Motor said Thursday it has signed a deal to export up to 15,500 vehicles to Vietnam over the next five years.

Ssangyong said in a statement that complete knock-down units of its Kyron sport utility vehicle would be exported from Thursday and assembled in Vietnam for sale there.

It said the contract was signed with Vietnam's Xuankien Vinaxuki Motor but gave no value.

Ssangyong, the country's smallest automaker, had been granted court protection from creditors in February 2009 in exchange for massive layoffs and cost savings.

However, the firm was hit by a crippling strike that ended in August last year as workers protested at mass redundancies. Strikers occupied the main plant for 77 days, sparking violent clashes with riot police.

In December the debt-burdened firm was given a new lifeline after a court approved its rescue plan.