Korea GM-Built Chevy Trax Crossovers Ship From Changwon to North America

Masan Gapo New Port was packed with finished vehicles lined up for export on April 29, with a large car carrier preparing to load. The scene showed cars built at a domestic plant just before they head overseas.
 
Most of the vehicles bore the Chevrolet emblem. They were largely the compact SUV Chevrolet Trax Crossover produced at Korea GM’s Changwon plant. Since its 2023 launch, the model has sold about 1 million units cumulatively and ranked No. 1 in South Korea’s passenger-car exports for three consecutive years from 2023 through last year, filling the port with Trax Crossovers.
 
Standing in front of a Hyundai Glovis vessel, Kim Hyun-wook, deputy head of the logistics team at GM Korea, said he takes pride in seeing vehicles made in Changwon reach global customers. He described the loading work as the final step in a long value chain linking the Changwon plant to Masan Gapo New Port and on to overseas markets.
 
At the port, the ship GLOVIS CAPTAIN was preparing to depart for the Benicia port near San Francisco with 350 Trax Crossovers on board. The vessel can carry up to 4,700 passenger cars, and loading took about two hours. The vehicles are expected to reach the west coast of North America after a 15-day voyage.
 
Son Yong-jun, head of Hyundai Glovis’ North America team for car carriers, said GLOVIS CAPTAIN was deployed on an emergency basis after delays to a scheduled vessel. He said a significant portion of the passenger cars loaded are exclusively GM vehicles, contributing to South Korea’s auto exports.
 
Cho Heung-je, head of operations at Masan Gapo New Port, said the port expects to reach a record 300,000 vehicles shipped this year. He said Korea GM cargo accounts for about 55% of total volume, calling it a key pillar.
  Korea GM’s Changwon plant, near the port, was operating at a brisk pace with workers and robots producing finished vehicles. The facility is divided into stamping, body, assembly and paint shops.
 
A banner at the assembly shop entrance read, “We will achieve our business plan,” reflecting the company’s focus as an export base. Inside, a height-adjustable system moved vehicle bodies up and down to fit workers. In the body shop, where welding is fully automated, large arm-like robots moved continuously, with sparks adding to the intensity of the production line. The body shop has a total of 605 industrial robots.
 
Bok Im-seong, who oversees the assembly shop at GM Korea, said robots identify and follow four types of tires, including alloy and steel wheels, and mount them on vehicles. He said GM is considering benchmarking the Korea GM application globally.