Ssangyong Motor’s flagship SUV Korando C made its Europe debut on Wednesday in Germany ― another fresh signal that the carmaker is making a successful turnaround from a court receivership back in 2009.

In the German city of Wiesbaden, Ssangyong held an event to launch the New Korando C, with some 140 journalists and retailers from 19 European countries in attendance.

With the Europe launch, the latest-generation Korando C will go on sale globally in the coming weeks through the company’s dealership network in some 130 countries. Its unveiling in China was held on Sept. 27.

The Korando C is the key model in Ssangyong’s turnaround efforts that started in 2010 when the company was acquired by India’s Mahindra & Mahindra.

Rebranding Korea’s oldest car model, which dates back to 1974, the company attached “C” to add a classy, comfortable and clean image to it.

Since then, the revamped Korando C has sold about 130,000 units thus far. Ssangyong said it aims to elevate its global sales to some 80,000 units per year.

The new launch comes at a time when the worst recession in a decade has hit the European car market. The company, however, is confident about its prospects, as the compact SUV market has continued to grow more than 12 percent every year in the region.

Ssangyong, in partnership with Mahindra, is also currently working on a new project “X100,” a compact SUV equipped with 1.6-liter engine, which is expected to hit the market as early in the latter half of 2014.

“The New Korando C has been reborn having actively adopted global market needs. I expect that it will establish itself as a flagship model of Ssangyong in Europe as well,” said Ssangyong Motor CEO Lee Yoo-il.

“We will make efforts to strengthen Ssangyong’s brand status while focusing on increasing our market share in the global SUV market on the new Korando C.”

In the nine months this year, the company sold 104,042 vehicles globally, a 21.4 percent increase from the same period last year.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)