Chevrolet sales in South Korea increase 8.58 percent to 8,323 units in October 2018.
Individual model sales performance was as follows:
- Chevrolet Aveo sales decreased 59.65 percent to 23 units
- The Aveo is sold as the Chevrolet Sonic in North America
- The Holden-badged Aveo produced by GM Korea and marketed as the Holden Barina in Australia and New Zealand was discontinued in September
- Chevrolet Bolt EV sales increased 2.44 percent to 42 units
- Chevrolet Camaro sales decreased 72.41 percent to 8 units
- Chevrolet Captiva sales decreased 100 percent to 0 units
- The Captiva sold in South Korea rides is the extended-length model with three rows of seating on the Theta platform, which dates back to 2006; it is substantially different than the smaller Captiva Sport that was sold in the U.S. as the Saturn Vue or in Europe as the Opel Antara
- The model was discontinued earlier this year in Korea
- Chevrolet Cruze sales decreased 96.3 percent to 11 units
- The model was discontinued earlier this year in Korea
- Chevrolet Damas sales increased 33.98 percent to 347 units
- The Damas is a small van originally introduced by Daewoo, which GM subsequently bought in the late 1990s
- Chevrolet Equinox sales totaled 189 units
- Chevrolet Impala sales decreased 45.18 percent to 91 units
- Chevrolet Labo sales increased 13.61 percent to 334 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 increased 10.05 percent to 1,939 units
- Chevrolet Orlando sales decreased 100 percent to 0 units
- The model was discontinued earlier this year in Korea
- Chevrolet Spark sales increased 15.58 percent to 3,731 units
- Chevrolet Trax sales increased 65.59 percent to 1,588 units
- Chevrolet Volt sales totaled 25 units
In the first ten months of 2018, Chevrolet Korea sales decreased 32 percent to 74,584 units.
Sales Results - October 2018 - South Korea - Chevrolet
| MODEL | OCT 2018 / OCT 2017 | OCTOBER 2018 | OCTOBER 2017 | YTD 2018 / YTD 2017 | YTD 2018 | YTD 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AVEO | -59.65% | 23 | 57 | -69.55% | 335 | 1,100 |
| BOLT EV | -58.54% | 17 | 41 | +931.07% | 4,712 | 457 |
| CAMARO | -72.41% | 8 | 29 | -66.16% | 156 | 461 |
| CAPTIVA | -100.00% | 0 | 141 | -32.26% | 1,174 | 1,733 |
| CRUZE | -96.30% | 11 | 297 | -58.50% | 3,605 | 8,687 |
| DAMAS | +33.98% | 347 | 259 | -10.46% | 3,149 | 3,517 |
| EQUINOX | * | 189 | 0 | * | 1,047 | 0 |
| IMPALA | -45.18% | 91 | 166 | -59.83% | 1,222 | 3,042 |
| LABO | +13.61% | 334 | 294 | -11.03% | 3,225 | 3,625 |
| MALIBU | +10.05% | 1,939 | 1,762 | -52.30% | 13,582 | 28,471 |
| ORLANDO | -100.00% | 0 | 437 | -67.00% | 2,171 | 6,579 |
| SPARK | +15.58% | 3,731 | 3,228 | -21.04% | 30,651 | 38,820 |
| TRAX | +62.46% | 1,558 | 959 | -30.78% | 9,414 | 13,600 |
| VOLT | * | 25 | 0 | +135.00% | 141 | 60 |
| CHEVROLET TOTAL | +7.86% | 8,273 | 7,670 | -32.28% | 74,595 | 110,152 |
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 could bankrupt its Korean operations and leave the Korean market entirely. These developments appear to have caused a rather steep reduction in consumer confidence in the automaker as well as in Chevrolet, which is closely associated with General Motors in Korea. As such, we attribute the rather steep drop in South Korean Chevy sales in the first ten months of 2018 to lower levels of consumer confidence in GM and Chevrolet.
In the last several months, GM Korea sales has been as follows:
- September 2018: Chevrolet Korea sales decreased 17 percent to 7,433 units
- August 2018: Chevrolet Korea sales decreased 26 percent to 7,391 units
- July 2018: Chevrolet Korea sales decreased 17 percent to 9,000 units
- June 2018: Chevrolet Korea sales decreased 16 percent to 9,528 units
- May 2018: Chevrolet Korea sales decreased 35 percent to 7,670 units
- April 2018: Chevrolet Korea sales decreased 57 percent to 5,369 units
However, the increase in October sales levels is promising and represents a sign of recovery. In fact, it’s the first month during the year that GM saw sales volumes increase rather than decrease.
We should also note that we have confirmed with GM Korea officials that the unit has discontinued the Aveo, Orlando and Captiva.
GM Korea Restructuring Details
The GM South Korea restructuring 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 October 2017 sales, except if noted
- South Korea sales figures reflect actual vehicle registrations rather than wholesales
Further Reading & Sales Reporting
- GM news
- Running GM sales results
- Running Chevrolet sales results
Comments
These numbers are still poor since they were preceded by several months of steep decline. I don’t see why GM bailed on Opel, Holden and India but looks to invest in Korea. Like China, they only buy domestic models Now would be a good time to cut the cord and put the 2020 new Trax/Encore in the US. The loss of the Spark is not worth a billion dollar investment.
Chevrolet has a good chance in Korea… it is doing poorly because of pi$$-poor execution on all levels, including strategic and operational. The market is very developed, and is a cross between Europe and China. GM has the right product to be successful there, if and/or when it gets its stuff together.
Now, as far as Koreans buying domestic models. Yes, there is a bias towards domestic brands… but it’s far from being exclusive. In fact, Chevrolet is often viewed as a semi-domestic Korean brand due to the Daewoo buyout. And even if that weren’t the case, Mercedes, BMW, and Audi do well there – so it’s far from a domestic-only market.