General Motors has confirmed that it is shifting production of the Mokka to Spain, a move that is likely to further damage labour relations in South Korea where the automaker is already battling partial strikes.
General Motors (GM) has confirmed that it is moving a large portion of production of the Mokka subcompact sport utility vehicle (SUV) from South Korea to Spain, reports Reuters. Starting from the latter half of next year, GM's European division, Opel, will produce the vehicle at its Zaragoza plant in Spain, which also houses production of the Corsa compact and Meriva compact van. The move is aimed at utilising the spare capacity of the plant as well as reducing delivery times for buyers. "We'll be able to produce the Mokka in greater numbers and supply our customers more quickly," said Opel chief executive Karl-Thomas Neumann. GM will invest USD80 million in Zaragoza to prepare the plant for Mokka production. By relocating production and investing in the Zaragoza plant, GM has assured the future of the facility and the 5,800 people employed there.
Meanwhile, the automaker's tumultuous relationship with its South Korean labour union continues as efforts to bridge the divide between the union and management remain fruitless. The two parties met yesterday (10 July) but talks ended without a successful conclusion. This has paved the way for a planned 10-hour shutdown today (11 July) at GM's four South Korean plants. The company's workers, represented by the Korean Metal Workers' Union (KMWU), have been staging partial strikes since 4 July . So far, GM has lost more than 136 hours of production at its South Korean plants, excluding lost overtime. Workers are demanding a KRW130,498 (USD114.6) increase in their monthly base wage, as well as a bonus equivalent to 300% of the base wage plus a lump-sum payment of KRW6 million.
Outlook and implications
GM's announcement that it is moving part of Mokka production from South Korea to Spain confirms earlier reports. In a statement to IHS Automotive last month, GM Korea confirmed that it was "conducting engineering studies to determine where additional small SUVs will be produced beyond the current locations". GM also added that "small SUVs are one of the fastest-growing segments globally. We are growing our share in that market and it is, of course, always an option to look for ways to make production and capacity utilisation more efficient." The move is certainly a positive one for the Opel plant as far as capacity utilisation is concerned. Weak sales of the ageing Corsa compact in Europe have freed up some capacity at the plant, as has the slow performance of the Meriva compact van, whose sales have been hit by the general slowdown in the market. In addition, GM stands to benefit by removing the logistical costs of shipping the products from South Korea to Europe.
Although this is positive for GM in Europe, it is likely to give rise to further discontent at the company's militant labour union in South Korea, which is already at loggerheads with management during the annual wage negotiations. GM Korea's relations with its union have worsened since last November when it announced that it would not build the next-generation Cruze in South Korea. Unlike with the Chevrolet Cruze, the move to shift Mokka production is more intended to match supply with demand in a market where GM continues to bleed money. In this scenario, it is only logical for the automaker to boost production of a model which is in demand.
Even though GM announced plans in February to invest about KRW8 trillion in South Korea over the next five years to develop globally competitive products, subsequent developments such as the potential shift of Aveo production to Spain have angered the union, making it doubt the automaker's commitment to its South Korean unit. The union is also upset that the automaker did not take follow-up steps on its earlier decision to end overnight shifts starting next January. Although GM temporarily halted night-shift production in March, it did not disclose how it would make up for the shortfall in output. Meanwhile, as negotiations and production disruptions continue, GM is losing out on its global production capacity. GM Korea is an important production base, accounting for nearly 40% of all Chevrolet vehicles sold globally. GM's South Korean sales in the first half of this year declined by 8.8% year-on-year (y/y) to 65,203 units on account of a slowing economy, and prolonged production disruption has the potential to hurt exports, making matters worse in an already difficult year.
Copyright © 2025 S&P Global Inc. All rights reserved.
These materials, including any software, data, processing technology, index data, ratings, credit-related analysis, research, model, software or other application or output described herein, or any part thereof (collectively the “Property”) constitute the proprietary and confidential information of S&P Global Inc its affiliates (each and together “S&P Global”) and/or its third party provider licensors. S&P Global on behalf of itself and its third-party licensors reserves all rights in and to the Property. These materials have been prepared solely for information purposes based upon information generally available to the public and from sources believed to be reliable.
Any copying, reproduction, reverse-engineering, modification, distribution, transmission or disclosure of the Property, in any form or by any means, is strictly prohibited without the prior written consent of S&P Global. The Property shall not be used for any unauthorized or unlawful purposes. S&P Global’s opinions, statements, estimates, projections, quotes and credit-related and other analyses are statements of opinion as of the date they are expressed and not statements of fact or recommendations to purchase, hold, or sell any securities or to make any investment decisions, and do not address the suitability of any security, and there is no obligation on S&P Global to update the foregoing or any other element of the Property. S&P Global may provide index data. Direct investment in an index is not possible. Exposure to an asset class represented by an index is available through investable instruments based on that index. The Property and its composition and content are subject to change without notice.
THE PROPERTY IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” BASIS. NEITHER S&P GLOBAL NOR ANY THIRD PARTY PROVIDERS (TOGETHER, “S&P GLOBAL PARTIES”) MAKE ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, FREEDOM FROM BUGS, SOFTWARE ERRORS OR DEFECTS, THAT THE PROPERTY’S FUNCTIONING WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR THAT THE PROPERTY WILL OPERATE IN ANY SOFTWARE OR HARDWARE CONFIGURATION, NOR ANY WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO ITS ACCURACY, AVAILABILITY, COMPLETENESS OR TIMELINESS, OR TO THE RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE PROPERTY. S&P GLOBAL PARTIES SHALL NOT IN ANY WAY BE LIABLE TO ANY RECIPIENT FOR ANY INACCURACIES, ERRORS OR OMISSIONS REGARDLESS OF THE CAUSE. Without limiting the foregoing, S&P Global Parties shall have no liability whatsoever to any recipient, whether in contract, in tort (including negligence), under warranty, under statute or otherwise, in respect of any loss or damage suffered by any recipient as a result of or in connection with the Property, or any course of action determined, by it or any third party, whether or not based on or relating to the Property. In no event shall S&P Global be liable to any party for any direct, indirect, incidental, exemplary, compensatory, punitive, special or consequential damages, costs, expenses, legal fees or losses (including without limitation lost income or lost profits and opportunity costs or losses caused by negligence) in connection with any use of the Property even if advised of the possibility of such damages. The Property should not be relied on and is not a substitute for the skill, judgment and experience of the user, its management, employees, advisors and/or clients when making investment and other business decisions.
The S&P Global logo is a registered trademark of S&P Global, and the trademarks of S&P Global used within this document or materials are protected by international laws. Any other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
The inclusion of a link to an external website by S&P Global should not be understood to be an endorsement of that website or the website's owners (or their products/services). S&P Global is not responsible for either the content or output of external websites. S&P Global keeps certain activities of its divisions separate from each other in order to preserve the independence and objectivity of their respective activities. As a result, certain divisions of S&P Global may have information that is not available to other S&P Global divisions. S&P Global has established policies and procedures to maintain the confidentiality of certain nonpublic information received in connection with each analytical process. S&P Global may receive compensation for its ratings and certain analyses, normally from issuers or underwriters of securities or from obligors. S&P Global reserves the right to disseminate its opinions and analyses. S&P Global Ratings’ public ratings and analyses are made available on its sites, www.spglobal.com/ratings (free of charge) and www.capitaliq.com (subscription), and may be distributed through other means, including via S&P Global publications and third party redistributors.
