General Motors could introduce its upscale Cadillac brand to South Korea in a bid to capture some of the premium sedan market, having struggled with the locally assembled Buick LaCrosse-based Alpheon which was launched two years ago.
The automaker had hoped the Alpheon – which is sold as a stand-alone brand/model and not badged Chevrolet like the rest of GM Korea’s line – would compete with premium Hyundai and Kia models but the company sold only 4,398 in the first seven months of this year, down 36.7% year on year.
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In contrast Kia sold 9,241 K7s while parent Hyundai sold 10,977 Genesis and 53,480 Grandeur units in the January-July period. The Alpheon also lagged behind the imported BMW 520d.
The Korea Herald said industry insiders believe the poor fuel efficiency of the three-litre petrol V6 Alpheon is the main concern among buyers. It achieves 9.3km/litre while the Grandeur and the K7 get 11.6 km/litre.
Insiders have now suggested GM Korea may choose to manufacture Cadillac premium sedans locally as a substitute.
A small number of imported Cadillacs have been being sold in Korea but observers told the Herald production at GM Korea’s factories could be a breakthrough.
GM Korea sold 60,720 vehicles in July although its domestic sales and exports dropped by 7.7% and 9% respectively year on year. It has targeted over 10% of the local market annually, and has introduced a Cruze electric vehicle test fleet and the Volt as part of its commitment to the development of next generation technology.
