GM Launches Impala in South Korea - Wall Street Journal
is launching its Chevrolet Impala in South Korea, bringing what was once a flagship sedan to consumers outside the North American market on a large scale for the first time. GM Korea Co. said it is importing the latest model of the full-size sedan, which has sold more than 16 million units since 1958, from the U. S. auto maker’s Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant for local sales starting next month. If the Korean launch is successful, it could lead to production of the Impala at one of GM’s three Korean plants. But while GM sold more than 140,000 Impalas last year, mostly in the U. S. , sales of the sedan have slowed in recent years as consumers opt for trucks and sport-utility vehicles. This launch will prove to be a test bed for GM to gauge the possibility of expanding the global market for the Impala,” a GM Korea spokesman said. GM Korea is a distant third, with market share hovering around 8. 5%. GM’s Korean unit has been plagued by talk of a possible pullout from the country after its labor costs have risen by nearly half in just five years, pushing it into a high-cost... GM’s Korean factories last year produced about 630,000 vehicles, but its capacity utilization rate of around 75% is too low to be profitable, analysts said. Source: www.wsj.com
