Chevrolet Korea Sales Decrease 16 Percent To 9,528 Units In June 2018

Chevrolet sales in South Korea decreased 16 percent to 9,528 units in June 2018.

Individual model sales performance was as follows:

• Chevrolet Aveo sales decreased 85.57 percent to 14 units
  • The Aveo is sold as the Chevrolet Sonic in North America
• Chevrolet Bolt EV sales increased 4056.41 percent to 1,621 units
• Chevrolet Camaro sales decreased 67.5 percent to 13 units
• Chevrolet Captiva sales decreased 1.4 percent to 211 units
  • The model sold in South Korea is the extended-length Captiva on the Theta platform with three rows of seating that dates back to 2006; it is not the smaller Captiva Sport that was sold in the U.S. as the Saturn Vue or in Europe as the Opel Antara
• Chevrolet Cruze sales decreased 77.62 percent to 321 units
• Chevrolet Damas sales increased 9.38 percent to 408 units
  • The Damas is a small van originally introduced by Daewoo, which GM subsequently bought in the late 1990s
• Chevrolet Equinox sales totaled 385 units, marking the first month that the compact crossover has been sold in Korea as it replaces the Captiva
• Chevrolet Impala sales decreased 64.67 percent to 112 units
• Chevrolet Labo sales decreased 16.1 percent to 323 units
  • The Labo is a line of small vans and pickups introduced by Daewoo, which GM subsequently bought in the late 1990s
• Chevrolet Malibu sales decreased 63.7 percent to 1,045 units
• Chevrolet Orlando sales decreased 67.5 percent to 221 units
• Chevrolet Spark sales decreased 1.91 percent to 3,850 units
• Chevrolet Trax sales decreased 8.78 percent to 977 units
• Chevrolet Volt sales totaled 27 units

In the first six months of 2018, Chevrolet Korea sales decreased 41.5 percent to 42,487 units.

Sales Results - June 2018 - South Korea - Chevrolet

The GM Authority Take

In the beginning of May, General Motors announced a massive restructuring of its South Korea business unit. Prior to the restructuring announcement, rumors ran rampant that GM would bankrupt its Korean operations and leave the Korean market entirely. The developments seem to have resulted in a steep reduction in consumer confidence in the automaker as well as in Chevrolet, which is more closely associated with General Motors than Cadillac in Korea. As such, we attribute the ongoing drop in Chevy sales in South Korea to lower levels of consumer confidence in GM and Chevrolet.

Another theory for the ongoing decrease in Chevy sales in South Korea is that availability of key models such as the Spark, Aveo, Cruze, Malibu, Trax, Captiva and Orlando was negatively impacted by labor strikes during the negotiation process, with inventory only now returning to normalized levels.

It’s worth noting that the June sales performance appears to be turning around compared to prior months. By comparison, Chevrolet South Korea May 2018 sales decreased 35 percent to 7,670 units and decreased 57 percent to 5,369 units in April.

GM Korea Restructuring Details

The turnaround plan for GM South Korea involves a $7 billion bailout of the unit (with GM providing $6.4 billion and the Korean Development Bank providing the remaining amount), along with the closure of the GM Gunsan plant and concessions by the local labor union to freeze wages. In addition to the bailout funds, GM will also invest $2 billion over the next 10 years and another $1.6 billion for corporate restructuring and operations. As announced previously, GM will also conduct a debt-to-equity swap totaling $2.2 billion. The move will save GM Korea $110 million in interest payments a year.

Finally, GM will set up a new headquarters office for its GM International division in Korea, as well as bring to market two new crossover utility vehicles and a new three-cylinder engine, with the automaker’s Korea-based vehicle development and manufacturing operations playing a key role in the initiatives.

About The Numbers

• All percent change figures compared to Chevrolet Korea June 2017 sales, except as noted
• South Korea sales figures reflect actual vehicle registrations rather than wholesales

Further Reading & Sales Reporting

• GM news
  • Chevrolet news
  • Cadillac news
  • GM Korea news
• Running GM sales results
  • Running Chevrolet sales results
  • Running Cadillac sales results
• June 2018 GM sales results
  • GM Canada June 2018 sales results
    • Chevrolet Canada June 2018 sales results
    • Cadillac Canada June 2018 sales results
    • Buick Canada June 2018 sales results
    • GMC Canada June 2018 sales results
  • GM Korea June 2018 sales results (coming soon)
    • Chevrolet Korea June 2018 sales results
    • Cadillac Korea June 2018 sales results
  • GM China June 2018 sales results (not available because of this)
  • U.S. GM June 2018 sales results (not available because of this)