SsangYong Motor Co., the South Korean unit of Indian carmaker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., said Monday its third-quarter net losses narrowed from a year earlier, helped by reduced costs.

Net losses for the three months that ended in September narrowed to 102.44 billion won ($90 million) from 107.9 billion won in the same period of last year, the company said in a statement.

"The company's drastic cost-cutting efforts in wages and welfare benefits for employees helped narrow the quarterly net losses, with exports to major markets improving in the past three months," a company spokesman said.

The company expects the recently launched Tivoli Air sport utility vehicle and the planned launch of the all-new Rexton SUV in November will help boost sales in the fourth quarter.

Operating losses also narrowed to 93.19 billion won in the third quarter from 105.17 billion won a year ago. Sales fell 16 percent to 705.69 billion won from 836.43 billion won during the cited period.

From January to September, however, net losses widened to 304.82 billion won from 185.47 billion won in the year-ago period as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to weigh on consumer sentiment.

SsangYong's overall sales fell 24.5 percent to 74,707 vehicles in the first nine months from 98,987 units a year earlier. 

The SUV-focused carmaker's lineup consists of the flagship G4 Rexton, as well as the Tivoli, Korando and Rexton Sports.

In 2011, Mahindra acquired a 70 percent stake in SsangYong Motor for 523 billion won. The Indian firm currently owns a 74.65 percent stake in SsangYong. (Yonhap)