Korea GM President: "Electric Vehicle Demand Slowdown is Real... PHEV, a Strong Substitute"

Hector Vizareal, President of Korea GM, New Year Meeting
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"There are no plans to convert the (Korean factory) to an electric vehicle production line in the short term. However, there is a strong alternative. We are considering a transition from internal combustion engines to other powertrains."

Hector Vizarral, President of Korea GM, reaffirmed GM's plan to launch plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) models in North America at a New Year meeting held on the 2nd at House of GM in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. With the launch virtually confirmed, the key issue now is the selection of production sites. GM factories located in Korea, the United States, Canada, and South America are expected to be candidates for PHEV production.

Hector Vizareal, President of Korea GM, is explaining the strategic direction of Korea GM for 2024 at the New Year's meeting on the 2nd.
[Photo by Korea GM]

At the earnings announcement on the 30th (local time), Mary Barra, GM CEO, stated that to meet strict federal fuel economy regulations, some vehicles launched in North America will include PHEVs. Globally, GM has pursued a leading electric vehicle transition strategy, but due to recent slowing demand for electric vehicles, the need to launch hybrids has been raised. U.S. dealers on GM's advisory board have directly requested additional hybrid models, saying consumers want hybrids.

Currently, GM produces and sells PHEVs only in China. Considering the U.S.-China trade dispute, it seems unlikely that PHEVs produced in China will be brought to North America for sale. Therefore, production is expected at factories in Korea, North America, Canada, and South America. This is still in the early stages of production review, and vehicle development tailored to North American specifications must come first. In this process, the role of Korea GM's Technical Research Center may become prominent. The Korea GM Technical Research Center developed popular models that swept the U.S. small SUV market last year, such as the Trailblazer and Trax crossover. The Trailblazer was the top Korean car export model last year.

Gerald Johnson, GM Global Production Executive Vice President, who visited Korea on the 26th of last month, also mentioned the review of PHEV production at the Korean factory. In a meeting with the labor union, Vice President Johnson said, "We are reviewing how Korea GM can flexibly operate the transition from internal combustion engine production to PHEV production."

However, President Vizarral drew a line, saying that the timing of attracting electric vehicle production or line conversion at the domestic factory is still uncertain. He said, "What we need to focus on is maximizing production capacity and profitability," adding, "There is no plan yet to convert (the Korean factory) to electric vehicle production." Last year, Korea GM achieved an annual production of 460,000 units at the Bupyeong and Changwon plants. This year, the goal is to maximize plant utilization and produce more than 500,000 units of key models such as the Trailblazer and Trax crossover.

Cadillac Pure Electric Vehicle Lyriq

President Vizarral also expressed confidence in domestic sales. Although demand for electric vehicles is slowing, the market focused on premium electric vehicles is steadily growing, and Korea GM plans to launch two electric vehicles targeting this market. This year, Korea GM will launch a total of four new models. These include the pure electric Cadillac Lyriq and Chevrolet Equinox EV based on the electric vehicle-dedicated Ultium platform, as well as the internal combustion engine Cadillac XT4 and Chevrolet Colorado.

Plans to expand service infrastructure and aftermarket services were also announced. In July this year, a Seoul Service Center with four basement floors and eight above-ground floors will open, and the business of the global aftermarket service brand AC Delco will be expanded. GM launched the AD Delco brand in the domestic market in March last year. Currently, it supplies parts for 13 imported car brands, but this year it will expand to handle parts for domestic brands as well. Additionally, Korea GM will launch the global connectivity service OnStar in the domestic market in the first half of this year. With OnStar applied, vehicle status diagnosis, remote control services, and OTA (over-the-air software updates) via a mobile app will become possible.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.