Roberto Rempel, CEO of GM Korea, introduces the company's goals and future strategies during the company's 20th anniversary ceremony held at the Changwon plant in South Gyeongsang Province, Wednesday. Courtesy of GM Korea
GM Korea holds 20th anniversary ceremony
By Kim Hyun-bin
Changwon ― General Motors disclosed the details of its massive investment in Korea and presented its future growth strategies while marking the 20th anniversary of GM Korea's foundation, Wednesday. The company invited a pool of local reporters to see the upgraded Changwon plant in South Gyeongsang Province with state-of-the-art facilities to manufacture next-generation vehicles.
GM invested 900 billion won ($632 million) in the Changwon plant to expand its production capacity to up to 60 vehicles per hour, from compact to full-size models, according to the company.
The Changwon plant is scheduled to start operating at full capacity in the first quarter of 2023, manufacturing a total of 280,000 vehicles annually.
"I am grateful for the dedication and hard work that all of our GM employees have made to manufacture and supply competitive GM global models to the world," said Shilpan Amin, senior vice president of GM International. "The success of the next-generation global new car is of paramount importance for the sustainable growth of GM's operations in Korea. GM has made a significant investment in the Changwon plant, considering the global demand for the vehicle to be manufactured and exported, starting next year."
Along with the next-generation global vehicles to be produced at GM's Changwon plant, another major investment of 200 billion won was made in the automaker's plant in Incheon's Bupyeong District that manufactures the Chevrolet Trailblazer.
Since the SUV's launch in 2020, over 380,000 Trailblazers have been exported as of September this year. Last year, the Trailblazer was the second-most-exported automobile from Korea, and the vehicle ― including its sister model, the Buick Encore GX ― ranked first in compact SUV sales in the U.S. market in 2021, establishing itself as one of GM's flagship SUVs.
GM Korea's Changwon plant in South Gyeongsang Province / Courtesy of GM Korea
Since entering Korea, GM has invested more than 9 trillion won ($6.3 billion) here, producing about 26 million vehicles and hiring hundreds of thousands of employees including the 12,000 currently employed.
"As the largest foreign investor, GM has been part of the Korean economy's advancement for the last 20 years, creating jobs, producing, selling and exporting vehicles and designing and engineering global vehicles, while benefiting local communities with our volunteer work," Roberto Rempel, CEO of GM Korea, said during his opening speech at the automaker's 20th anniversary event held at the Changwon plant, Wednesday.
GM Korea aims to maximize the export volume of the Trailblazer and other next-generation vehicles here, raising its total annual production capacity to 500,000 vehicles in 2023.
"We expect the next-generation global vehicle to follow the Chevrolet Trailblazer in enjoying great success around the world," Rempel said. "We will serve Korean customers while bringing the best vehicles from GM's global brands, including the Chevrolet, Cadillac and GMC, to meet their needs of the various American lifestyles from practicality to the luxury vehicle experiences."
The company presented a blueprint aiming to boost profits from its operations in Korea next year through increased exports of next-generation global vehicles and a stronger brand strategy for GM's diverse portfolio in the domestic market.
