General Motors (GM) is considering investing to build a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) production facility at its Bupyeong plant in Incheon, Korea.
GM is considering investing in the construction of a PHEV facility at its Bupyeong plant, according to sources in the automobile industry on Feb. 20. The investment is said to be around 690 billion won.
The Korean plant is considered to be one of the most efficient plants among GM’s global production bases (Mexico, Canada and Korea) outside of North America.
The construction of the facility can receive support from the Korean government, which makes the Bupyeong plant a prime candidate for GM’s PHEV production facility. In July 2023, the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy amended an enforcement decree of the Foreign Investment Act to include cash support for investments to replace existing facilities to build national technology commercialization facilities (electric vehicle factories including PHEV factories). The Korean government’s cash support is capped at 50 percent of the investment amount.
GM Korea is also reportedly in talks with the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy over whether to support the construction of the facility. If the decision to build a PHEV facility is made, GM Korea plans to make full use of idle land at the Bupyeong plant.
“The investment amount is larger than initially expected because the facility was planned in consideration of a future conversion to electric vehicles,” an industry insider said. “GM Korea’s schedule for applying for the government subsidy was moved up to coincide with an April board meeting at GM Global Headquarters.”