In this photo taken on Nov. 31, 2017, GM Korea Chief Executive Kaher Kazem explains the company’s focus on making a turnaround in a press conference held in central Seoul. (Image: GM Korea)
SEOUL, Nov. 30 (Korea Bizwire) – GM Korea Co. chief Kaher Kazem vowed Thursday to make every effort to turn the company around, saying its losses over the past two years are not acceptable.
In a meeting with Seoul-based journalists, GM Korea Chief Executive Kaher Kazem said the carmaker posted a whopping 2 trillion won (US$1.8 billion) in total losses for the three years through 2016.
Kazem described the huge financial loss as an unacceptable situation and said the company will focus on turning the local operation around for future sustainability.According to a company spokesman, according to a company spokesman.
But the CEO didn’t elaborate on the timetable for the achievement.
The Aussie native called for full-scale cooperation from the carmaker’s union, subcontractors and dealerships to ride out the current difficulties.
In measures to revive lackluster sales in the domestic market, GM Korea plans to unveil the Equinox compact sport utility vehicle in the first half of next year and increase the supplies of electric vehicles such as the Bolt EV, the CEO said.
GM Korea has road tested the Equinox crossover here since September to adjust the model for local environmental regulations and other requirements.
The crossover, launched in the United States in 2004, is currently available with a 2.0-liter gasoline turbo engine, a 1.5-liter gasoline turbo engine and a 1.6-liter diesel engine.
As for the possibility of the Equinox’s production in Korea, he didn’t give a direct answer. Instead, he said there should be a wide range of choices for customers whether a vehicle is produced domestically or not.
Separately, the company and it resumed wage negotiations with the union which has been suspended since July due to differences over the terms. The CEO took office in September and the union’s new leadership was elected in mid-November.
In the January-October period, GM Korea sold a total of 436,515 vehicles, down 11 percent from 489,842 units a year earlier — a drop largely affected by poor domestic demand. Domestic sales plunged 24 percent to110,176 from 144,726 during the same period due to lack of new models and tougher competition with local rivals and imports.
(Yonhap)
