On February 24th, General Motors held a ceremony at its Changwon plant to celebrate the mass production of the Chevrolet Trax Crossover model aimed at the North American market, officially commencing full-scale production for the global market.
The ceremony was attended by over 200 employees, including Roberto Rempel, President of GM Korea, and Brian McMurray, President of GM Korea R&D Corporation, along with Kim Jun-ho, Chairman of the Korean Metal Workers’ Union at GM Korea. The event marked the successful mass production of the Trax Crossover’s North American model, accomplished through a thorough preparation process at the Changwon plant, which has achieved global top-tier productivity and quality competitiveness through large-scale investments. After the ceremony, GM leadership, including President Rempel, toured the production process, emphasizing the importance of flawless initial mass production and defect-free manufacturing quality, while also encouraging the hard work of the on-site staff.
President Rempel expressed, “I am very pleased that despite the challenging conditions over the past few years, including the pandemic, we have been able to successfully commence mass production of the Trax Crossover, one of GM’s key models, through exceptional teamwork,” and stated, “GM will focus on producing defect-free vehicles to exceed the expectations of our global customers, based on our customer-first value that places our customers at the center of all activities.”
Brian McMurray, President of GM Korea R&D Corporation, noted, “I would like to thank all GM employees for their passion and dedication in various areas like product design, engineering, and manufacturing engineering during the production process of the new product, and I feel proud of the achievements the team has made. The initiation of mass production is an example of the influence of GM engineers in Korea on global engineering, showcasing how essential their roles will be in the future; I am confident that the Trax Crossover will become a landmark model that satisfies customers worldwide.”
The Trax Crossover plays a vital role in GM’s global vehicle portfolio within the crossover segment. It is a strategic model born from the culmination of GM’s global development capabilities, particularly in design, engineering, and manufacturing technology, serving as a key model for securing the competitiveness and sustainability of its Korean operations.
Previously, GM has invested approximately 900 billion KRW in large-scale production facilities at the Changwon plant, focusing on ensuring defect-free production quality for the Trax Crossover. Through this investment, the Changwon plant has been transformed into an innovative facility with the highest levels of productivity and efficiency, securing a production capacity of 60 vehicles per hour and up to 280,000 vehicles annually. Furthermore, following an agreement with labor unions to transition workforce placements for mass production, the plant completed its workforce distribution for operating a two-shift system by the end of last year through continuous consultations.
Emphasizing defect-free product quality, GM operates a factory evaluation system called GMS (Global Manufacturing System) and BIQ (Built In Quality) across all its global plants. Among them, the Changwon plant possesses impressive quality operational capabilities by meeting BIQ Level 4, which indicates that it has one of the highest standards in manufacturing quality control systems within global GM, ensuring that ‘defects do not leave the process.’
The North American model of the Trax Crossover has continued to garner explosive reactions since its first local reveal last October. At GM’s Investor Day in November of last year, Mary Barra, GM’s Chairperson and CEO, mentioned the excellent marketability of the North American Trax Crossover, leading to sustained hot interest and expectations among local dealers.
GM plans to proactively respond to the increasing demand for new products in the North American market by launching mass production of the North American model and realizing full-scale production. Additionally, they plan to launch the Chevrolet Trax Crossover in the domestic market within the first quarter.
Lee Sang-jin daedusj@autodiary.kr