GM Korea has rather unceremoniously pulled the plug on a triplicity of compact Chevy models in the South Korean market: the Chevrolet Cruze car, Orlando MPV, and Captiva crossover. The subcompact Chevrolet Aveo (a.k.a. “Sonic”) survives for now, being churned out by GM Korea’s Bupyeong plant despite abysmal sales; just 18 units were sold in South Korea through the month of September, representing a 78-percent drop versus the same month last year.
GM Korea’s same Bupyeong plant has ceased production of the second-generation Captiva, the Mexico-built Chevy Equinox replacing that model in the South Korean market. GM Korea’s Gunsan plant, which had produced the Chevrolet Orlando and Cruze for the domestic market, was shuttered in May of this year.
The discontinuation of the Chevy Captiva in favor of the newer Equinox isn’t news; we reported on that very shift back in September, a couple of months after Equinox sales first kicked off in the South Korean market.
2016 Chevrolet Captiva
But there hasn’t been much talk regarding the discontinuation of the Chevrolet Cruze compact car and Orlando compact MPV in South Korea. The current first-generation Orlando in Korea is built on the same GM Delta platform as the now-discontinued Captiva, although a new second-generation model launched in September for the Chinese market, likely riding on one of GM’s more recent platforms. There’s no word on whether the second-generation Chevy Orlando might make its way to the South Korean market.
Nor has there been any indication as to whether the Chevrolet Cruze will be replaced in South Korea. The shift in consumer preference from cars and toward utility vehicles is not just regional; automakers are facing similar trends all around the globe. Thus, GM Korea likely could get on perfectly well without a compact car model to sell there, and we have a feeling the subcompact Aveo likely isn’t too long for this world, either.
Stay tuned to GMAuthority.com for the latest GM Korea news.
Comments
A sign of things to come with the Chevy Cruze in North America?
Depressing
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Koreans are cheap and very nationalistic meaning it’s difficult for any foreign company to try gain any type of success in their country; one can imagine the factory workers are getting ready for another strike when General Motors tells them they’ll need to do shut down the factory.
So what’s left? Trax and Encore? Maybe they’re out of Korea after the 2019 MY.
no one will shed a tear for those cars
Why not? Good, solid cars that are better than most in the segment.
There junk and can catch fire all kinds of recalls I own one wish I knew
I have a 2010 Korean built Captiva LTZ. I cannot get upgrades for the navigation system no one seems to do the upgrade for this year. This is most annoying due to there being no information between Telford and Worcester, and return home routes seem to be a magical mystery tour. Help would be great