SsangYong Revives Kaiser Name

South Korea’s SsangYong Motor Co. will rename its Chairman W fullsize luxury sedan the Chairman Kaiser when it introduces the redesigned model later this year.

The Kaiser name dates back to the 1940s and the former Kaiser-Frazer Corp. in Michigan. The company merged with Willys-Overland in 1953. A decade later it changed its name to Kaiser Jeep, although it stopped producing Kaiser-branded cars in the mid-1950s.

SsangYong, which is owned by India’s Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., expects the new Kaiser to compete with the Hyundai Genesis EQ900 and Kia K9. Upgrades from the current Chairman will include exterior styling tweaks, new interiors amenities and unspecified technologies not available in other SsangYong models.

Powertrain options will remain the same: a choice between two SsangYong inline-six mills or a 300-hp 5.0-liter V-8 supplied by Mercedes-Benz. Each engine will be mated with a Mercedes-Benz 7-speed automatic transmission.

SsangYong introduced the original Mercedes-based Chairman H in 1997. Sales of the W model have plummeted from 8,200 units in 2010 to less than 1,300 last year.

It’s not clear if the company plans to make the Kaiser the flagship for a line of multiple Chairman models. SsangYong sold the W alongside the H for several years before phasing out the latter car in 2014.