Import Implications
The Korean market has been leading the IT industry and serving as a test bed for its new products. Now, it is testing the possibility in the auto market.
According to industry sources on Aug. 23, GM has decided to sell the Chevrolet Impala freely in the Korean auto market, the first time outside of the North American market. The automaker is currently selling only small quantities of the Impala in the Philippines and some Middle Eastern countries, including the United Arab Emirates, outside the U.S.
As more and more customers have turned to pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) last year, which led to the decrease in sales of the Impala, GM has tried to tap into the Asian markets, including China, and has chosen the Korean market as the first country.
An official from GM Korea said, “With the sales of the Chevrolet Impala in Korea this time, the Korean market will act as a testbed to give the mid and full-sized vehicles’ exports a more competitive edge in the global markets, including the Chinese and other Asian markets. In fact, a large number of local media outlets, including fund evaluation firm Morningstar, made comments about the release of the Impala in Korea, saying, “Korea is the testbed for entry into the Chinese market.”
This is in stark contrast to the trend so far that Korea has been one of the last countries to recieve new models of major automakers. GM made such a decision due to ther high standard of customer feedback in the Korean market and its competitive market conditions, a GM Korea representative explained.
GM Korea has also pledged for domestic production later according to the sales results of the Impala. It implicates that Korea will become a major producer to export the Impala to the Chinese and other Asian markets in the future.