GM is considering launching the Chevrolet brand in South Korea to win more sales in the country's fast-growing imported-car market, a company executive said Friday. The comment was made by James Raymond, GM's Asia-Pacific executive director of sales and marketing, at a press conference in Seoul. GM entered the South Korean market with the Saab and Cadillac brands a decade ago. GM cars, however, have remained unpopular in South Korea, despite the imported-car market's seven-fold growth over the past seven years, because of poor customer service and bulky design. Last year, Saabs accounted for a meager 0.59 percent of South Korea's 50,000+ market for imported vehicles. Analysts say that Chevrolet cars will cannibalize sales of GM Daewoo. If launched, Chevrolet plans to market models such as the Corvette, Tahoe, Camaro, and Malibu (pictured).
Many GM Daewoo models are sold around the world as Buicks (China), Pontiacs, Chevrolets, and Holdens (Australia). The Winstorm, for example, is sold as the Chevrolet Captiva in Europe and Holden Captiva in Australia.
[Source: Trading Markets]
