Imports of Impala will continue
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Chevrolet’s flagship Impala sedan
By Jhoo Dong-chan
GM Korea, the nation’s third-largest automobile manufacturer and a subsidiary of U.S.-based General Motors, has decided to continue to import the Chevy Impala, rather than producing the premium sedan here.
GM Korea announced its decision to continue importing the Impala, which has been well received by Korean customers.
“The company carried out thorough and comprehensive research on the feasibility of assembling the Impala in Korea,” said a GM official.
“And it decided that it is more feasible to continue to import the sedan than building it here in order not only to satisfy the customer demand for the Impala, but also to actively and flexibly meet environmental regulations in terms of product portfolio.”
The Impala has sold well in the domestic luxury car market, surpassing sales of 10,000 autos just six months after its debut.
Offering various options and comfortable interior space, the Impala once surpassed sales of Kia Motors’ K7 last year with its value and price competitiveness benefiting by the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, which brought down tariffs on vehicles imported from the U. S.
During its introduction last year, GM Korea CEO Sergio Rocha promised that if the Impala reaches at a certain level in sales, the company will consider manufacturing the car domestically.
Although the Impala is reportedly selling 1,000 cars a month, the company has decided not to carry out domestic operations but to continue importing them.
“The company needs to consider the profitability for domestic production. We believe it is more appropriate to continue to import the sedan in order to satisfy the customers’ demand for the premium values of Impala,” said an official.
“The company has discussed the issue with its union members and we hope the workers would agreed with the company’s decision.”
Instead of carrying out domestic production of the Impala, the official said the company’s other top sedan, Malibu, will be manufactured at its factory in Incheon.
GM Korea continued its sales momentum this year with domestic sales in March up 48 percent from the previous month. Sales were driven by continued positive response to the Chevrolet Spark. Sales of the Spark rose 87.7 percent to 9,175 cars in March compared to the same month last year, giving the model its best-ever monthly sales since the company introduced it.