Imported Impala Stickers for Less in Korea Than U.S.

General Motors launches sales of its ’16 Chevrolet Impala, assembled in Hamtramck, MI, in Seoul, Korea, at prices lower than those offered in Detroit and other U.S. markets.

Despite special processing, shipping, import duties and other regulatory costs in Korea, the fullsize Chevrolet’s sticker prices there are at least $3,000 lower than those of identical cars sold in the U.S., according to a GM Korea spokesman.

“The Impala is priced lower than in the U.S., which is very unique for an imported vehicle,” GM Korea CEO Sergio Rocha says at the sales launch without explaining how it is done.

That the Korea version of the Impala is localized with extra features that appeal to South Korean consumers is even more notable. The vehicles are processed at the Bupyeong assembly complex where additional items such as rear-seat speaker controls, power folding sideview mirrors and rain-sensing wipers are installed.

With the upgrades installed the sticker price in Korea, where vehicles are sold without discounts by dealers, ranges from 34.1 million won ($28,945) to 41.9 million won ($35,585), depending on engine and option choices.

The Impala is being offered with 2.5L and 3.6L engines with the full range of options available in the U.S., except Android infotainment-system controls. Android is not yet available in Korea.

Rocha says GM Korea promised in its recently concluded wage agreement with the local branch of the Korea Metal Workers Union that his company would consider producing the Impala locally if volumes reached a certain level. While GM Korea has kept quiet about that part of the pact, insiders say that if sales were sustained at 1,000 vehicles monthly following launch, Rocha would start planning to produce it in Korea.

GM Korea wrote up more than 1,000 orders for the Impala in the first six days of taking preorders.

Without specifying a sales target, Rocha says he expects the Impala to triple sales of the locally produced Alpheon fullsize car it is replacing. He says Alpheon deliveries ranged from “around 4,000 to 5,000 units annually.”

While the Impala is in its 10th generation since being launched 57 years ago, South Korea is its first volume-export market, so Rocha’s work is of considerable interest to top GM management in Detroit.

Rocha predicts adding the Impala to GM Korea’s portfolio will enable his company to conquer more than 10% of the local market. The automaker’s current market share is 8.5%, compared with 65% by local rivals Hyundai and Kia. Imported cars and SUVs hold a combined 15.2%.

In the same wage agreement this year, Rocha’s team agreed to produce the Chevrolet Malibu in one of GM Korea’s Bupyeong assembly plants.