| Impala sedan of GM Korea |
By Lee Hyo-sik
GM Korea, which used to be sandwiched between Hyundai-Kia and imported car brands, has been exceeding market expectations lately on the brisk sales of its Chevrolet vehicles.
Claiming more than a 10 percent market share has been a difficult task for the Korean unit of U.S. auto giant General Motors. But, thanks to the popularity of the New Spark mini car and other newly launched vehicles, the automaker is getting closer to achieving that long-sought goal, according to company officials.
They say GM vehicles have begun attracting a great deal of attention from consumers for their high product quality and affordable prices, adding that its effective marketing helped spark consumer interest.
In August, the automaker sold 13,844 vehicles, up 16 percent from the previous year. It was the largest sales figure for August since the company was founded in October 2002.
"All of our Chevrolet brands were sold more than a year earlier," a GM Korea spokesman said. "In particular, we sold 6,987 New Spark mini cars last month, 53.5 percent more than its previous model a year ago. The vehicle became the best selling model in the segment, outpacing Kia Motors' Morning."
GM also sold 1,373 Malibu mid-sized sedans, up 19.5 percent from the previous year, while 1,041 Trax compact SUVs were sold, up 32 percent. It also sold 4.7 percent more Orlando SUVs at 1,798.
"The New Spark has been well received by local motorists," the spokesman said. "The launch of our premium Impala sedan and diesel-engine Trax compact SUV in September will further boost our sales. We are very much optimistic for the remainder of the year."
The company expects its domestic market share will exceed 10 percent this month and will continue to show an upward curve in the fourth quarter. GM wasn't able to boost its sales over the past several years as an increasing number of consumer turn to imported car brands such as BMW and Volkswagen. In 2014, its market share stood at 9.3 percent.
"Korean consumers have finally begun recognizing GM offers great value by producing high-quality vehicles at affordable prices," the spokesman said. "Our latest marketing blitz, including a large-scale test drive campaign, also helped increase the sales."
In addition, the automaker's flagship sedan Impala will surpass its rival vehicles, such as Hyundai Motor's Grandeur and Kia Motors' K7, he said, stressing that it expects to sell several thousand Impala sedans in September.
"We received 3,000 pre-orders in August and we sold 900 Impala sedans on Aug. 31," the spokesman said. "If the trend continues, the Impala will certainly outpace Grandeur."
To further boost the sales in accordance with the government's recent move to cut consumption tax on automobiles by 30 percent, GM unveiled aggressive price policies on Wednesday.
The automaker said that for those purchasing its Chevrolet brand vehicles in September, it will slash prices of the Captiva SUV by 3.44 million won, the Malibu sedan by 3 million won, the Cruze sedan by 2.6 million won and the Orlando SUV by 2.3 million won.