South Korea’s Ssangyong Motor Co. will aim to sell 110,000 units at home with the help of its newly released sport utility vehicle (SUV) model Rexton Sports and explore new markets this year, its chief executive said on Wednesday.

Ssangyong Motor, fourth largest automaker based in Korea and owned by India’s Mahindra & Mahindra, aims to break the 110,000-unit milestone in sales this year by strengthening brand competitiveness in its sales networks.

Its domestic sales in 2017 rose 3.0 percent to 106,677 units from a year ago, its best record in 14 years.

The automaker has already launched two new models in the new year - 2018 Korando Turismo, the exterior design-upgraded version of its 2013 model, and mid-sized SUV Rexton Sports.

The company eyes monthly sales of 2,500 units in Rexton Sports to achieve the annual target of 30,000 units this year, its CEO Choi Johng-sik said.

On the external front, Ssangyong Motor will beef up presence in European and emerging markets.

“We’ll focus on Latin America, Asia and Russia as well as India with overseas sales goal of 20,000 units in Rexton Sports,” said Choi.

Its large-sized premium SUV G4 Rexton is expected to be launched in India in the second half of this year.

The company is working on a new model for the U.S. market as well as electric vehicles and self-driving cars, according to Choi.

Shares of Ssangyong Motor Wednesday closed 3.58 percent up at 5,490 won from the previous session.

By Kim Jung-hwan and Lee Ha-yeon

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