It seems that companies in Korea are becoming more important to General Motors in its never-ending battle of manufacturing and selling cars.
Since purchasing Daewoo five years ago, GM has changed that company into one of the most influential and successful global operations. Korea is the center of the strategy to make Chevrolet into a global entry-level brand. Cars being designed and manufactured in Korea for General Motors are appearing in markets that include the U.S., Germany, China, Australia and Venezuela.
Units manufactured in Korea have exploded from 310,000 in 2003 to 1.3 million in 2007. And GM Daewoo plans to boost sales to more than 2 million and increase revenue to $20 billion, up from $15 billion in 2007. And they are also planning to meet $1 billion in annual profits.
Recently, GM put as much as $100 million in the construction of a testing facility in Cheong-na, Korea.
Our take? Korea is indeed a major factor in GM’s global strategy and struggle to profitability. And, as a result, look for more models to be made there. A new minicar, small car and a mid-sized car are expected to be manufactured for GM by GM Daewoo.