GGM's 'Casper' Deeply Loves Gwangju

Gwangju Global Motors (hereinafter GGM), South Korea’s first ‘win-win regional job creation’ model, has produced and shipped over 120,000 vehicles as of April this year, starting with the production of the first Casper car in September 2021.

Symbolizing the ‘win-win job creation’ initiative, GGM was launched as a socially integrated job model through agreements among labor, management, civic groups, and government, and is entrusted with producing Hyundai Motor’s compact sport utility vehicle (SUV), the Casper.

The win-win job creation model provides workers with social wages such as housing and welfare benefits in addition to their annual salary. As of now, about 660 employees work at GGM, including 57 new hires recruited publicly in April.

The Gwangju Metropolitan City government is also supporting GGM workers by providing housing subsidies of 272,000 KRW per month (increasing to 300,000 KRW from July). This highlights GGM as a symbol of win-win job creation and a foundation for Gwangju’s youth.

Although GGM has significantly contributed to job creation in Gwangju, the sales of Casper vehicles produced by GGM within Gwangju are extremely low, causing concern.

According to GGM and related sources, the total domestic cumulative sales of Casper from its launch until last month reached 117,985 units, but only 2,117 vehicles (1.8%) were registered in the Gwangju area. This equates to 1.49 vehicles per 1,000 residents, ranking 15th among South Korea’s 17 metropolitan local governments.

The situation was even worse last year. While 45,170 Casper units were sold nationwide, only 730 were registered in Gwangju. The registration rate was 0.5 vehicles per 1,000 residents, meaning only one out of every 2,000 Gwangju citizens purchased a Casper. This placed Gwangju 16th, near the bottom among metropolitan areas nationwide. During the same period, Ulsan Metropolitan City registered 1.6 vehicles per 1,000 residents, more than three times higher than Gwangju.

A GGM official said, "We hope Casper receives more love in its hometown of Gwangju and that Casper vehicles can be seen everywhere on the roads throughout the city."

GGM plans to begin full-scale production of the Casper electric vehicle in the second half of this year and expand export routes to overseas markets. Strong export performance and increased domestic sales of Casper are expected to directly lead to increased production volumes, bringing significant positive effects to the regional economy.

Moreover, if GGM maintains stable quality, productivity, and a cooperative labor-management relationship as stipulated in the win-win agreement, it is expected to attract additional automobile parts manufacturers to establish factories in the Gwangju area. Gwangju City has already presented a blueprint to revitalize the automotive industry by attracting parts companies to the ‘Future Car National Industrial Complex,’ a 3.3 million square meter (approximately 1 million pyeong) site currently being developed near the GGM factory in Deokrim-dong, Gwangsan-gu. This is why the future of GGM, a key driving force of the Gwangju regional economy, is highly anticipated.

Meanwhile, the Casper is South Korea’s only compact SUV, featuring a 7-airbag system and various intelligent safety features as standard, combining the economy of a compact car with the robustness and safety of an SUV. Additionally, it offers a 100-horsepower Kappa 1.0 turbo engine as an optional feature, ensuring excellent driving performance, and provides ample space with full folding seats in all rows.

Based on Casper’s iconic interior and exterior design, it includes various convenience features comparable to mid-sized cars, such as a 4.2-inch cluster, phone projection, Blue Link, Hyundai CarPay, an 8-inch navigation system, and a full-auto climate control system, breaking common stereotypes about compact cars.

Furthermore, the upcoming Casper electric vehicle model, scheduled for release in the second half of this year, is expected to have a longer overall length and a generous single-charge driving range, securing top competitiveness. The Casper electric vehicle, equipped with GGM’s advanced technology, is anticipated to create a sensation not only in the domestic market but also overseas.