GM Targets 20% Sales Growth in South Korea

General Motors Co. hopes to better utilize production capacity in South Korea with new products to help boost domestic sales 20% and recapture at least 10% of the local market.

GM Korea’s total volume shrank 30% over the past two years to 1.4 million vehicles in 2015, Reuters reports. The carmaker’s share of Korea’s home market has declined from more than 10% in 2007 to 8.6% last year.

Korea has served for years as GM's low-cost export hub for small cars. The country accounts for about one-fifth of the company's global production. But Reuters says GM’s labor costs there have grown nearly 50% in five years, making the country less less competitive.

GM Korea chief Dale Sullivan tells Reuters the business unit aims to bolster domestic sales with seven new models, including the Captiva small crossover and Malibu midsize sedan. He says GM also is pondering local production of the Impala large car, which currently is exported to Korea from Detroit.