General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) wants to capture more market share for its imported passenger cars in South Korea. To do this, the automaker is considering launching its Chevrolet brand in that country after examining the results of a recent Korea-specific feasibility study.
GM, which already sells its Cadillac and Saab brands in South Korea, wants to make sure that rival Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) doesn't get into South Korea with its extremely popular passenger cars and beat it in that market, much like it's doing in many national auto markets. Toyota is now public enemy number one for GM, and it's not getting any easier for the iconic U.S. auto brand. Although its latest quarter was somewhat disappointing, Toyota is still very much on top of its game.
Another motivation for GM is the fact that imported car sales in South Korea increased to 6.2% of all car sales in April of this year, up from 4.9% from a year ago. GM hopes that it can double its South Korea sales this year, which sounds like a pretty hefty goal. GM is facing some headwinds though: the big three Detroit automakers saw their first-quarter car sales in South Korea shrink to 11.7% of the market, down from 2004's 15% first quarter total.
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