KGM Commercial (KGMC) is continuing its rapid steps to normalise its business by developing new products and increasing contract volumes after joining the KG Group family.KGMC recently signed a contract with a major domestic and foreign energy company to supply fuel cell systems, and the results are starting to show. According to the company, it has developed a fuel cell system called Slimcell, which is 30% lighter than existing products, and is competitive due to its high efficiency and reliability.
With this, KGMC is expanding its business scope by entering the energy storage system (ESS) and distributed generation markets. It is also exploring various business opportunities in close co-operation with KG Group.
"Joining KG Group gives us the opportunity to take a new leap forward, and we will focus on the development of fuel cells and other new products to become even more competitive," said KGMC.
In addition, KGMC is also stabilising its management by strengthening its workforce and improving its structure. While retaining the existing management team, efforts are being made to increase the participation of experts in management and enhance management transparency and corporate value.
By July this year, KGMC has accumulated a total of 300 contracts, including 11M and 9M eco-friendly buses, showing a growth of approximately 1701 TP3T compared to last year (111 units sold). This translates to a turnover of more than KRW 100 billion, and the company expects the contract volume to increase further in the second half of the year. Of the 300 units under contract, 156 units have been shipped, and the remaining 144 units will be produced and delivered to customers in accordance with the contract order.
This is the best performance since KGMC's inception, including the previous Edison Motors, and is even more significant as it is the first time KGMC has been part of the KG Group family, and is expected to pave the way for an early turnaround.
Thanks to this increase in contract volume, KGMC has established a production system at its Gunsan plant in Jeollabuk-do, in addition to its Hamyang plant in Gyeongnam, and is expanding its product line-up to include medium and large intercity buses, including the existing 11m large bus and 9m bus. The 9m bus, which was newly developed after joining the KG family, is scheduled to be produced and delivered to customers at the Gunsan plant from September, and preliminary demonstrations have been held for transport companies since June, and pre-bookings are being made in response to its outstanding design and safety.
Meanwhile, KGMC acquired Edison Motors, which was previously in corporate rehabilitation, from KG Group (Chairman Kwak Jae-sun) in September 2023 and became a family company of KG Group with the plan to grow and develop into a company that produces and sells eco-friendly comprehensive commercial vehicles such as CNG and EV.
At the inauguration ceremony in October 2023, Chairman Kwak Jae-sun announced KGMC's mid- to long-term management plan to grow and develop into an eco-friendly comprehensive commercial vehicle company by focusing on ▲ expanding its product line-up to include medium and large intercity buses ▲ strengthening collaboration with KG Mobility in R&D and procurement sourcing ▲ improving profitability through increased efficiency ▲ and increasing sales volume by expanding global markets.
KGMC is also organising an emblem replacement event to enhance its corporate and brand image. If a customer (operator) requests to replace the existing Edison Motors emblem with the KGM emblem, the company will provide a free replacement service, and will also provide a free CNG bus field inspection service.
"In addition to expanding the domestic market through the production of various eco-friendly buses, we plan to increase sales volume by expanding global markets such as the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region using our global network to grow and develop from a domestic eco-friendly bus company to a global eco-friendly comprehensive commercial vehicle company," said a KGMC official.
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