Production at two GM Korea assembly plants has stopped following a parts supply issue.
According to a recent report from Reuters, GM Korea suspended production at the GM Changwon plant and GM Bupyeong No. 2 plant last week after South Korean parts supplier ERAE AMS declined to provide required components. ERAE AMS is demanding a price hike for the parts, and refuses to supply the products.
ERAE AMS produces several different auto parts, including brake components and calipers, as well as automotive generators. “GM Korea plans to continue having discussions with ERAE AMS to resolve the issues,” GM Korea said in a recent statement, per Reuters.
The GM Changwon plant and GM Bupyeong No. 2 plant are responsible for the production of several different GM vehicles, with the former producing the Chevy Trax, Buick Encore, and Chevy Malibu, while the latter produces the Chevy Spark. Chevy Spark production at the GM Changwon is expected to end August 31st, with the next-generation Chevy Trax expected to take its place in terms of available production capacity.
The two facilities reportedly have an annual production capacity of roughly 70,000 vehicles, making up 30 percent of GM Korea’s total annual production capacity in 2021.
Meanwhile, production at the GM Bupyeong No. 1 plant has been unaffected by this latest recent parts supply issue. The GM Bupyeong No. 1 plant produces the Chevy Trailblazer and Buick Encore GX.
GM Korea has reported eight consecutive losses since 2014. The latest production issues follow an announcement from GM Korea President Roberto Rempel that the company was aiming to break-even in 2022, with the goal of turning a profit next year.
As GM Authority covered in June, GM is no longer taking new sold orders for the 2022 Chevy Spark, as production is set to officially end at the end of August. Meanwhile, the current-generation Chevy Trax will be discontinued later this year, with production of the next-generation Chevy Trax expected to begin in the first half of the 2023 calendar year.
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Comments
This is what you get when you build in South Korea strikes, supplier discontent , and more strikes ,no product shipped constantly to North America a sad state of affairs for whoever made this allocation for production activity !
GM loves sending the message….
They truly Hate Americans, they even Kill Americans, they certainly don’t want to employ them. I’ve never understood why GM refused to Kill people in other countries with their “Special Killer Ignitions,” only Americans. The funny thing is, they are only too happy to take Americans’ money, for the GM car, that a Korean was paid to make. If GM can Kill Americans with impunity, I demand that they at least Kill South Koreans too.
chevy spark has a great reputation for solid reliability and gas milage.i have waited for for 1LT for over 4 months ,i need a commuter car but none are available in stock.GM should keep making them americans need a fuel efficient small car.
Well folks you might as well wake up and smell the coffee, as long as one person shows his friends his new suv and brags about it everyone who sees it won’t want a car; they just want a suv and nothing else,even though it comes with a price tag, out of my reach.