General Motors‘s South Korean subsidiary aims to produce 500,000 vehicles this year to meet growing overseas demand, particularly from the United States, even as the threat of higher import tariffs clouds the unit’s outlook.
The target represents an 8.5% increase from the 460,826 units GM Korea produced last year and would mark the highest output since 2024, when the subsidiary built 499,000 vehicles.
“Parent company GM has recently requested GM Korea to operate the two plants at full capacity to produce 500,000 units,” a company spokesperson said Tuesday.
The announcement comes amid renewed speculation that the Detroit-based automaker could scale back or exit operations in South Korea due to higher US import tariffs.
The US currently imposes a 15% levy on Korean-made vehicles under a bilateral trade agreement, but President Donald Trump threatened last month to raise “reciprocal” tariffs and auto duties to 25%, citing delays in Korea’s legislative process related to the trade deal’s implementation.
Production and Sales
GM Korea was established in 2002 and currently operates three local plants: Bupyeong and Changwon for vehicle assembly, and Boryeong for transmission and engine components.
Sales rebounded to 464,648 units in 2023 and 499,000 in 2024 before slipping 7.5% last year to 462,310 — combining 15,094 domestic sales with 447,216 exports, the vast majority destined for the United States.
This year, GM Korea plans to focus on the Chevrolet Trax and Trailblazer SUVs by running its Bupyeong and Changwon plants at full capacity.
Investment Plans
At the GM Korea 2026 Business Strategy Conference held last December, the subsidiary announced plans to invest $300 million in its local operations and strengthen its production base from 2028 onward.
GM CEO Mary Barra has said that demand for models produced in Korea remained strong and that the vehicles were “contributing to GM’s profitability.”
Model Lineup
Beyond the Trax and Trailblazer, Chevrolet also sells the Colorado pickup in South Korea.
Cadillac offers several models in the market, including the fully electric Escalade IQ and Lyriq.
Last week, GM Korea unveiled the GMC Acadia SUV, Canyon pickup, and Hummer EV. The Acadia and Canyon have already launched, while the battery-electric Hummer SUV is planned for debut in the first half of this year.
At the Automotive Press Association event last month, Barra said the automaker’s “destination is to get to the all-EV future,” even as sales of battery-electric models more than halved sequentially in the final quarter of 2025.
However, GM started restructuring its EV business last year, resulting in impairments exceeding $7 billion.
North American Workforce
Last May, GM announced that 750 workers at its Oshawa plant in Canada would be laid off.
After several delays, the cuts took effect on January 30, as first reported by Automotive News, with another 1,500 workers across the supply chain also affected.
Last week, Barra criticized the Canada-China trade deal signed last month, describing it as “a slippery slope” and a risk to “protecting jobs and national security.”
