GM Korea said Tuesday that it has decided to continue importing Chevrolet’s premium sedan Impala instead of producing them here.
“We decided to keep importing Impala to respond to the needs of clients, who want premium value of imported sedans, and to consider the company’s car portfolio under the government’s strict regulations on carbon emissions,” the company said in a statement.
Chevrolet’s premium sedan Impala (GM Korea)
The automaker said in order to maintain cost competitiveness, importing the cars from the U.S. is inevitable because of the benefits of the free trade agreement between Korea and the U.S.
Impala has been gaining popularity in the local premium sedan market, with sales of more than 10,000 units in six months since its rollout.
To swiftly respond to local consumers’ demands, GM Korea had reviewed the local production. Its union also continued to call for production here for their job security and for higher domestic market share.
GM Korea’s chief James Kim mentioned at the launch of Captiva in March that he was reviewing the production here although it is a very tough and important decision.
By Shin Ji-hye (
shinjh@heraldcorp.com)