GM Korea is expected to increase imports from US GMs such as medium-sized sports utility vehicle (SUV) `Equinox` since the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations have been concluded,, semi-sedan `Cruise` and electric car `Bolt EV`.

If the US-Korea FTA negotiations are concluded as scheduled, US automobiles will be able to export 50,000 units per year to each country if they meet US safety standards even if they do not meet Korean safety standards.

The US car import quota doubled from the existing 25,000 units.

According to the automobile industry on March 27, after the closure of the Gunsan plant, the domestic production volume of Korea`s GM will drop sharply, and the import volume from the US headquarters will increase sharply due to the amendment of the KORUS FTA.

Barry Eng, GM`s president, urged the labor union to hold an unofficial meeting with GM Korea. He said, "The government is hoping that by April 20th we will finalize the bill," he said. "If labor union labor unions cannot reach a tentative settlement by the end of this month, it will be difficult to make a plan for this period." "If you do not get your own bill, you cannot expect the government or the government to support it.”

Once the labor-management agreement is passed in April, GM plans to launch the Equinox in Korea by May as a relief pitcher. As with new car assignments, whether or not injecting equinox is also dependent on labor union cooperation.

Last year, the imports of GM cars stood at 1,689 units in Korea, followed by Cadillac 2008, which GM Korea imported. As a result, Equinox can only be imported to Korea if it meets US safety standards. Equinox is the best-selling best seller in the US market last year with more than 2.5 million units, and it is worth evaluating with Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Motors Sorento.

"Although the model is well-sold in the US and China, it needs to overcome consumer confidence in Korea`s GM after the restructuring, and the price of the Equinox 1.6 diesel model is lower than the US consumer price of about 34 million won. It will be key whether it can be released. "

Korea`s GM sub-model car New Cruise is likely to be imported from the US and Mexico after the closure of the Gunsan plant at the end of May.

The All-New Cruise is a full-blown model in nine years, and the flagship model sold more than 10,000 units last year. It is an industry observation that it is an indispensable model for normalization of Korean GM and restructuring of domestic product line. All New Cruises are produced at the Rhode Town Plant in Ohio, USA and at the Koahua Plant in Mexico. If imports are decided, it will be imported from the US, which has no tariffs, according to the amendment of the KORUS FTA.

Chevrolet Volt EV also imported only 60 cars last year, but this year GM headquarters allocated about 5000 units to Korea GM. Already, 5000 contracts were pre-booked in January. After the Korea-US FTA is revised, the volume of bolt EVs is expected to gradually increase.

By Ye Jin Soo jinye@


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