Mahindra Shifts SsangYong Focus from U.S. to China

India’s Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. has suspended plans to introduce its South Korean SsangYong brand in the U.S. Now it’s looking for partners to assemble and sell SsangYong vehicles in China instead, Reuters reports.

“China is here and now,” Mahindra Executive Director Pawan Goenka tells the news agency. “The U.S. is in the future.”

But Reuters cites other sources who say SsangYong is still eager to establish sales in the U.S., even though it lacks a sales organization or any products capable of meeting American safety and emission standards. Goenka says consultants are working on a U.S. strategy proposal.

Establishing local production in China would enable SsangYong to lower the prices of vehicles it already imports to that market, Goenka says. Reuters points out that bolstering sales in China would offset slumping demand in Russia, which once claimed 20% of SsangYong’s exports.

Mahindra acquired a 70% stake in SsangYong Motor Co. in 2011, thereby saving the company from financial collapse. But restoring the Korean carmaker to profitability has been difficult. Last year SsangYong posted a net loss of nearly 62 billion won ($51 million), according to Reuters.

SsangYong sold 144,800 vehicles in 2015, one-third of them exported. Reuters notes that the company’s exports alone totaled 141,000 units in 2014.