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GM Korea Company ( ko, 한국지엠주식회사) is the South Korean
subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a ...
of
multinational corporation A multinational company (MNC), also referred to as a multinational enterprise (MNE), a transnational enterprise (TNE), a transnational corporation (TNC), an international corporation or a stateless corporation with subtle but contrasting senses, i ...
General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
. GMK is also the third largest
automobile manufacturer The automotive industry comprises a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industries by revenue (from 16 % ...
in South Korea. GM Korea's roots go back to the former
Daewoo Motors Daewoo Motors ( ) was a South Korean automotive company established in 1937 as "National Motors". The company changed its name several times until 1982 when it became "Daewoo Motors" following its acquisition by the Daewoo Group. After running i ...
vehicle brand which was split from its parent company,
Daewoo Group Daewoo ( ; Hangul: , Hanja: , ; literally "great universe" and a portmanteau of "dae" meaning great, and the given name of founder and chairman Kim Woo-choong) also known as the Daewoo Group, was a major South Korean chaebol (type of conglomera ...
, in 2002. It has three manufacturing facilities in South Korea. In addition, GM Korea provides region and brand-specific vehicle assembly kits for assembly by GM affiliates in the United States, Brazil, China, Colombia,
Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...
and Mexico, and formerly in Australia and India after GM's February 2020 announcement to withdraw from all right-hand-drive markets worldwide. In 2008, GM Korea built more than 1.9 million vehicles, including CKD products. It currently produces vehicles and kits for
Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ou ...
and
Buick Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...
that are offered in more than 150 markets on continents that don't have right-hand-drive markets. It produced vehicles and kits for
Holden Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. It was an Australian automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter which sold cars under its own marque in Australia. In its last thr ...
in Australia until the brand's demise in 2020. GM Korea also has design, engineering, research & development facilities that are involved in development for various GM products, above all small-size cars.


History


Predecessors

GM Korea's roots go back to the remnants of the
Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...
and Shinjin Motors, which launched its business by rebuilding scrapped US military vehicles. Shinjin Motor was first established as National Motor in 1937 in Bupyeong-gu, Incheon, Japanese Korea. After changing its name to Saenara Motor in 1962, Saenara Motor was bought by Shinjin Industrial in 1965, which changed its name to Shinjin Motor after establishing a partnership with
Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
. After Toyota's withdrawal in 1972 (to keep doing business with China, which would not trade with companies who engaged in South Korea or Taiwan), Shinjin Motor changed its name to GM Korea (GMK) in 1972 with
General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
purchasing a 50% stake in the company from Toyota in 1972; however GMK was renamed again in 1976 to Saehan Motors. Korea Development Bank (KDB), the company's creditor, took over management in 1976 as the company found itself unable to cope with competition from
Hyundai Hyundai is a South Korean industrial conglomerate (" chaebol"), which was restructured into the following groups: * Hyundai Group, parts of the former conglomerate which have not been divested ** Hyundai Mobis, Korean car parts company ** Hyundai A ...
and Kia. After the Daewoo Group gained control in 1982, the name was changed once more to Daewoo Motor. In the early 1990s the company started to expand heavily throughout the world. Until 1996 all Daewoo cars were based on GM-designed models. After the
1997 Asian financial crisis The Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of East Asia and Southeast Asia beginning in July 1997 and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998– ...
reached South Korea, Daewoo took over the troubled SUV manufacturer
SsangYong The SsangYong Motor Company ( ko, 쌍용자동차 주식회사) is a South Korea–based automobile manufacturer. It traces its origins back to a manufacturer established in 1954. The name SsangYong appeared in 1988, after its acquisition by the ...
in 1998, but ran into financial trouble and was forced to sell the company off in 2001 to GM affiliate
SAIC Motor SAIC Motor Corp., Ltd. (formerly Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation) is a Chinese State-owned enterprises of China, state-owned automobile manufacturer headquartered in Anting, Shanghai. Founded in 1955, it is currently the largest of the ...
.


Formation: GM Daewoo

In 2001, General Motors bought most of Daewoo Motor's assets to form "GM Daewoo Auto & Technology". The new company started operations on October 17, 2002, with GM and its partners
Suzuki is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Minami-ku, Hamamatsu, Japan. Suzuki manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a variety of other small internal co ...
and SAIC holding a stake of 66.7% with investments of US$400 million. The GM holding was formally purchased by GM Holden Ltd which holds a seat on the board and is legally responsible for GM Daewoo. The remaining equity stake of 33.3% was held by Korea Development Bank and several other Korean creditors with investments of US$197 million. The deal did not include 15 plants, including Daewoo's oldest plant in
Bupyeong-gu Bupyeong District (Bupyeong-gu) is one of the 10 administrative divisions (eight municipal districts and two counties) that comprise Incheon, South Korea. Bupyeong-gu comprises an area of 12.35 square miles (31.98 square km), and has a population ...
which is now operated under the name Incheon Motor Company as a supplier to GM Daewoo. In 2004,
Tata Motors Tata Motors Limited is an Indian multinational automotive manufacturing company, headquartered in Mumbai, India, which is part of the Tata Group. The company produces passenger cars, trucks, vans, coaches, buses. Formerly known as Tata Eng ...
purchased Daewoo Truck, which had been spun out of bankrupt Daewoo Motor Co. in 2002. In February 2005, GM invested US$49 million to raise its share in the company to 48.2%. In 2010,
General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
owned 82.9%, SAIC 9.9%, and the Daewoo Motor Creditors Committee the remaining 7.2%. On November 25, 2003, the design center was relocated to the new two-story building at the
Bupyeong-gu Bupyeong District (Bupyeong-gu) is one of the 10 administrative divisions (eight municipal districts and two counties) that comprise Incheon, South Korea. Bupyeong-gu comprises an area of 12.35 square miles (31.98 square km), and has a population ...
headquarters. The first car to be produced under the GM Daewoo nameplate was the 2002 Daewoo Lacetti, replacing the Nubira. This car was developed in South Korea under the Daewoo Motor era, but it gradually became a GM world car, sold under many different marques all around the globe. After a few years without any new cars to present, in 2005, GM Daewoo introduced the
Holden Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. It was an Australian automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter which sold cars under its own marque in Australia. In its last thr ...
-based
Statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a ...
luxury car replacing the discontinued Daewoo Chairman. The third generation of Matiz was introduced, refreshed by the GM Daewoo design team, and an evolution of the four-door Kalos appeared: the Gentra. In early 2006, GM Daewoo presented
Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1887 French-language dramati ...
, the replacement of the
Magnus Magnus, meaning "Great" in Latin, was used as cognomen of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in the first century BC. The best-known use of the name during the Roman Empire is for the fourth-century Western Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus. The name gained wid ...
. GM Daewoo's official press releases says that Tosca is an acronym for "Tomorrow Standard Car". The end of the same year, GM Daewoo introduced the Winstorm, its first proper
sport utility vehicle A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon defini ...
(SUV), which was, as the Lacetti, sold worldwide under different brands and names including
Opel Antara The Opel Antara is a compact crossover SUV which was marketed by Opel from 2006 to 2015. Based on the Theta platform, the Antara closely shared its underpinnings and powertrains with the Chevrolet Captiva. However, it only offered five seats ...
,
Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ou ...
Captiva and
Holden Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. It was an Australian automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter which sold cars under its own marque in Australia. In its last thr ...
Captiva, and previously
Saturn Vue The Saturn Vue is a compact SUV that was sold and built by Saturn, and it was Saturn's best-selling model. It was the first vehicle to use the GM Theta platform when it was introduced in 2001 for the 2002 model year. The Vue was later facelifted ...
before the demise of the Saturn brand in 2010. It featured a
common rail Common rail direct fuel injection is a direct fuel injection system built around a high-pressure (over ) fuel rail feeding solenoid valves, as opposed to a low-pressure fuel pump feeding unit injectors (or pump nozzles). High-pressure injecti ...
Diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-cal ...
for the first time in a Daewoo vehicle, in addition to regular four and six cylinder gasoline engines. The diesel engine design was licensed from the Italian engine maker
VM Motori VM Motori S.p.A. is an Italian diesel engine manufacturing company which is wholly owned by Stellantis. VM headquarters and main production facilities are located in Cento, in Emilia-Romagna, Italy. History VM Motori was founded by two entrep ...
. 2007 saw the introduction of the Lacetti and Kalos hatchback facelift's
wagon A wagon or waggon is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draught animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people. Wagons are immediately distinguished from ...
version, becoming the Gentra X. For 2008, GM Daewoo introduced the first Korean-branded roadster: the G2X sports car, a
badge-engineered In the automotive industry, rebadging is a form of market segmentation used by automobile manufacturers around the world. To allow for product differentiation without designing or engineering a new model or brand (at high cost or risk), a ma ...
Pontiac Solstice/ Saturn Sky which was based on the
GM Kappa platform Kappa was General Motors' subcompact rear-wheel drive automobile platform for roadster applications. The architecture debuted in the 2006 Pontiac Solstice and 2007 Saturn Sky, and ended production in 2009. These vehicles generally have a "M" in ...
, and started to sell the
Opel Antara The Opel Antara is a compact crossover SUV which was marketed by Opel from 2006 to 2015. Based on the Theta platform, the Antara closely shared its underpinnings and powertrains with the Chevrolet Captiva. However, it only offered five seats ...
under the name of Winstorm MaXX. The Statesman flagship was also replaced by the new
Veritas Veritas is the name given to the Roman virtue of truthfulness, which was considered one of the main virtues any good Roman should possess. The Greek goddess of truth is Aletheia (Ancient Greek: ). The German philosopher Martin Heidegger argues ...
which is now based on the Holden Caprice V. Late 2008 and early 2009 were a major period for GM Daewoo with the introduction of the all-new Lacetti Premiere, which is based on the
Chevrolet Cruze The Chevrolet Cruze is a compact car that is produced by General Motors since 2008. It was designated as a globally developed, designed, and manufactured four-door compact sedan, complemented by a five-door hatchback body variant from 2011, and ...
, a very important compact car for GM divisions worldwide. The newly rechristened third generation of the Matiz was added to the range in 2009 as the Chevrolet Spark. 2010 saw introduction of the Chevrolet Orlando and ''Alpheon'', a local version of the
Buick LaCrosse The Buick LaCrosse is a mid-size sedan manufactured and marketed by Buick since 2004. The LaCrosse is now in its third generation, slotted above the Buick Regal as the brand's flagship vehicle. The first-generation LaCrosse replaced the Century ...
.


Establishment of GM Korea

On January 20, 2011, General Motors announced that GM Daewoo would be renamed ''GM Korea'' "to reflect aewoo'sheightened status in heglobal operations of GM", effective March 2011. Most of the remaining Daewoo vehicles were rebadged as
Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ou ...
s, although the Damas/Lobo microtrucks were sold without a brand name since 2011. GM's luxury division
Cadillac The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed ...
entered South Korea in 1996 and, with a record sales year of 28000 units in 2017, South Korea became the 5th largest market for Cadillac worldwide (after China, the United States, Canada and the Middle East). In 2011 the
Daewoo Tosca The Daewoo Tosca is a mid-size car designed by Daewoo in South Korea and marketed by Chevrolet as the Chevrolet Epica and Chevrolet Tosca, while Holden marketed it as the Holden Epica. Codenamed ''V250'', it replaces the Daewoo Magnus and its d ...
was replaced by a locally built version of the
Chevrolet Malibu The Chevrolet Malibu is a mid-size car manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet from 1964 to 1983 and again since 1997. The Malibu began as a trim-level of the Chevrolet Chevelle, becoming its own model line in 1978. Originally a rear-wheel-dr ...
. More recently, the low annual incomes a result of lower levels of sales, led to closing the non-profitable factories of the GM Korea unit. These plant closures provoked protests among the workers of the Bupyeong-gu and Incheon GM Korea plants, when the unionised workers tried to prevent the closure of operations, and lead a strike against the government to protect their jobs.


GM withdrawal from Europe and crisis

Starting from 2014, GM halted sales of all Chevrolet-branded cars in Europe, India, East and South Africa (most of which had up to then been manufactured completely or in part by GM Korea). In 2017, General Motors finalized its move out of the European market by selling the
Opel Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Grou ...
/Vauxhall subsidiary to
Groupe PSA The PSA Group (), legally known as Peugeot S.A. (Peugeot Société Anonyme, trading as Groupe PSA; formerly known as PSA Peugeot Citroën from 1991 to 2016) was a French multinational automotive manufacturing company which produced automobiles ...
. As a result, GM no longer has any official activities in Europe. This caused closure of the South Korean GM Gunsan Plant due to low productivity. This news was followed by the further announcement from GM (Detroit Headquarters) on 16 February 2020 that "as part of a strategy to exit markets that don't produce adequate returns on investments" it was pulling out of all right-hand drive markets worldwide, including Australia, New Zealand and Thailand. This announcement also had the knock-on effect of the final termination of the 160-year old Holden automotive brand in Australia and New Zealand, as well as ending production of the Chevrolet Colorado and Trailblazer in Thailand. Due to this, GM Korea's Bupyeong 2 plant was closed due to reduced productivity. The Spark, Trax and Malibu will be discontinued in August 2022.


Manufacturing facilities

;South Korea *
Bupyeong-gu Bupyeong District (Bupyeong-gu) is one of the 10 administrative divisions (eight municipal districts and two counties) that comprise Incheon, South Korea. Bupyeong-gu comprises an area of 12.35 square miles (31.98 square km), and has a population ...
: vehicle assembly and gasoline/LPG engine manufacturing (production capacity: est. 440,000/year) *
Changwon Changwon () is the capital city of Gyeongsangnam-do, on the southeast coast of South Korea. With a population of 1.07 million , Changwon is South Korea's ninth-most populous city. A port city, Changwon is bordered by Masan Bay to the south, ...
: vehicle assembly and gasoline/LPG engine manufacturing (production capacity: est. 210,000/year) * Boryeong: transmission and engine components manufacturing


Former manufacturing facilities

;South Korea *
Gunsan Gunsan (), also romanized as Kunsan, is a city in North Jeolla Province, South Korea. It is on the south bank of the Geum River just upstream from its exit into the Yellow Sea. It has emerged as a high-tech manufacturing industrial city and an i ...
: vehicle assembly and diesel engine manufacturing (production capacity: est. 260,000/year). This plant closed on May 31, 2018. The factory was later merged with Chinese electric commercial vehicles company Yuan Cheng Auto, in cooperation with Myoung Shin. The company plans to produce CKD-made electric trucks for the South Korean market. ;Vietnam *
Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi i ...
: GM Vietnam vehicle assembly (production capacity: est. 11,000/year) acquired by
VinFast VinFast LLC is a Vietnamese private automotive company headquartered in Vietnam. Established in 2017, it is a member of the conglomerate organization Vingroup, that was founded by Phạm Nhật Vượng. It is the first Vietnamese car brand ...
in 2018.


Slogans

* 2011~2012: "Chevrolet, is the car" * 2012~2015: "LOVE. LIFE." (Chevrolet) * 2015~present: "Find New Roads" (Chevrolet) * 2018: "다시 힘차게 달린다" + "Find New Roads" (Chevrolet)


Model range


Current locally manufactured models

* Buick Encore GX (export) * Chevrolet Trax (export) *
Chevrolet Trailblazer The Chevrolet Trailblazer is an automobile nameplate used by General Motors for its Chevrolet brand since 1999 for several SUV models: * TrailBlazer, a name of appearance package for the Chevrolet S-10 Blazer used between 1999 and 2002 * Chevro ...


Current imported models


Cadillac (Cadillac Korea)

* Cadillac CT4 * Cadillac CT5 * Cadillac Escalade * Cadillac XT4 *
Cadillac XT5 The Cadillac XT5 (short for Crossover Touring 5) is a compact luxury / D-segment crossover SUV manufactured by General Motors. It was introduced at both the Dubai Motor Show and LA Auto Show in November 2015. The XT5 replaced the Cadillac SR ...
* Cadillac XT6


Chevrolet

*
Chevrolet Bolt EV Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and oust ...
* Chevrolet Bolt EUV *
Chevrolet Colorado The Chevrolet Colorado, and its counterpart, the GMC Canyon, are series of compact and later mid-sized pickup trucks marketed by American automaker General Motors. They were introduced in 2004 to replace the Chevrolet S-10 and GMC S-15/Sonoma co ...
* Chevrolet Equinox *
Chevrolet Tahoe The Chevrolet Tahoe, and its badge engineered GMC Yukon counterpart, are full-size SUVs from General Motors, offered since 1994 and 1991, respectively. Since 1982, Chevrolet and GMC sold two different-sized SUVs under their 'Blazer' and 'Jim ...
* Chevrolet Traverse


GMC

* GMC SierraScheduled to be released in the second half of 2022.


Discontinued models

* Alpheon *
Buick Encore The Buick Encore is a subcompact crossover SUV built by General Motors since 2012. It is subcompact crossover SUV marketed by Buick and its fourth SUV overall after the Rendezvous, Rainier, and Enclave. The "Encore" designation was previous ...
(export) * Cadillac CT6 * Chevrolet Aveo/Sonic *
Chevrolet Camaro The Chevrolet Camaro is a mid-size American automobile manufactured by Chevrolet, classified as a pony car. It first went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed to compete with the Ford Mustang. The Camaro ...
SS * Chevrolet Captiva *
Chevrolet Corvette C6 The Chevrolet Corvette (C6) is the sixth generation of the Corvette sports car that was produced by Chevrolet division of General Motors for the 2005 to 2013 model years. It is the first Corvette with exposed headlamps since the 1962 model. Pr ...
*
Chevrolet Cruze The Chevrolet Cruze is a compact car that is produced by General Motors since 2008. It was designated as a globally developed, designed, and manufactured four-door compact sedan, complemented by a five-door hatchback body variant from 2011, and ...
*
Chevrolet Impala The Chevrolet Impala () is a full-size car built by Chevrolet for model years 1958 to 1985, 1994 to 1996, and 2000 to 2020. The Impala was Chevrolet's popular flagship passenger car and was among the better-selling American-made automobiles ...
*
Chevrolet Malibu The Chevrolet Malibu is a mid-size car manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet from 1964 to 1983 and again since 1997. The Malibu began as a trim-level of the Chevrolet Chevelle, becoming its own model line in 1978. Originally a rear-wheel-dr ...
*
Chevrolet Optra The Chevrolet Optra is an automotive nameplate used by the Chevrolet marque for two different compact car models, in the following markets: *Daewoo Lacetti (2004–2013), in markets such as Colombia, Canada, Mexico, Japan and Southeast Asia *B ...
* Chevrolet Orlando * Chevrolet Spark *
Chevrolet Volt The Chevrolet Volt is a plug-in hybrid manufactured by General Motors, also marketed in rebadged variants as the Holden Volt in Australia and New Zealand and the Buick Velite 5 in China, and with a different fascia as the Vauxhall Ampera in th ...
*
Opel Karl The Opel Karl (also known as the Vauxhall Viva and Vinfast Fadil) is a city car with a hatchback manufactured by GM Korea and marketed by Opel as a rebadged and restyled variant of the fourth-generation Chevrolet Spark, replacing the Suzuki-s ...
/
Vauxhall Viva The Vauxhall Viva is a small family car that was produced by Vauxhall in a succession of three versions between 1963 and 1979. These were designated as the HA, HB and HC series. The Viva was introduced a year after Vauxhall's fellow GM compa ...
* Damas/Labo


See also

* Daewoo Bus * Daewoo Motor Sales * List of Daewoo models * List of Korean car makers


Notes


References


External links

* {{Authority control Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 2002 Car manufacturers of South Korea Truck manufacturers of South Korea
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
South Korean brands 2002 establishments in Korea South Korean subsidiaries of foreign companies