GM Korea has been weakened by the withdrawal of Chevrolet from Europe
- GM Korea, the Korean subsidiary of the General-Motors group, used to produce most of the Chevrolet models sold in Europe. As Chevrolet's position gradually became too close to that of Opel (another subsidiary of the GM group), the two brands became caught in a price war with harmful consequences for the group as a whole. GM therefore decided in 2014 to withdraw Chevrolet from the European continent in order to put an end to this internal competition. As a consequence of this decision, GM Korea will produce almost 200 000 fewer vehicles each year compared to the period 2010-2013.
- In addition to this, the progressive transfer of the Opel Mokka from Korea to Spain will be only partially compensated for by the arrival of the Opel Karl on the assembly lines of GM Korea. At present, half of the Mokkas sold in Europe are still produced in Korea, but this proportion should fall over the next few years. In 2015, the Opels manufactured by GM Korea for the European market represented 25% of GM Korea's production (Mokka, Karl, Antara), but this proportion should shrink as more Mokkas are manufactured in Spain and as production of the Opel Antara ends (to be replaced by a model produced in Europe).
- The future of GM Korea therefore appears very uncertain, as it will no longer be able to count on the success of its models in the Korean market. Its two leading models are the Chevrolet Trax (an Opel Mokka with the Chevrolet logo) and the Chevrolet Spark (an Opel Karl with the Chevrolet logo) which represent almost half of production at GM Korea. Along with their Opel versions, these two models in fact represent 70% of production at GM Korea, which means that this production is very concentrated.
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