On the morning of the 29th at Masan Gapo New Port in Changwon, South Gyeongsang. In a 86,987㎡ (26,313 pyeong) storage yard, about 7,500 Trax crossovers (Trax) produced by GM Korea at its Korea site were lined up. All were vehicles waiting to be loaded for shipment to markets around the world, including North America. To protect them from foreign matter that could fall from the ship, the hoods were covered with white nonwoven fabric, and information on the destination regions was written on the front windshields.
The Trax units, hazard lights on, moved continuously in groups of seven to eight at a time. People drove them directly. The destination was Hyundai Glovis' Captain, docked at the pier. Upon reaching the ship, the vehicles are secured firmly using bands and hooks, keeping safety distances of about 30 cm front and rear and 10 cm side to side. A total of 350 Trax would be loaded onto this ship that day. Hyundai Glovis' Comet, arriving in the afternoon, would take 2,000, and the remaining volume would be loaded onto another ship and depart for North America and elsewhere.
Since Masan Gapo New Port first opened in 2015, it has been able to become South Gyeongsang's export hub thanks to the Trax from GM Korea. The Trax accounts for 55% of all volume loaded at Gapo New Port. The total area of the storage yards at Gapo New Port where vehicles await export is 173,975㎡ (52,627 pyeong), and on the day ChosunBiz visited, half of the yard was filled with Trax. In another yard, Kia's EV5 produced in China was also visible. A Gapo New Port official said it was "transshipment volume" (moving cargo to another vessel at a port other than the destination).
The Trax is made at GM Korea's Changwon plant, about a 15-minute drive away. With a total site area of 731,000㎡, it has established itself as GM's small SUV production hub for the Trax. The Trax sold 296,658 units in the global market last year, including 264,855 in the United States alone. The Trax had a 27% share of the U.S. small SUV market.
GM Korea cited automation as the secret. When the automated plant builds, the vehicles head straight to the port. In 2019, GM invested about 900 billion won to build a new 80,000㎡ paint shop on the Changwon plant site and modernized its production base, including press equipment and welding robots.
At GM Korea's body shop visited the day before, industrial robot arms were throwing sparks as they welded hoods onto silver vehicle frames. Unlike when it was unveiled right after completion in Nov. 2022, black dust had accumulated on the yellow robot arms. The burnt smell from welding brushed past the nose. That means the plant is running nonstop. The Changwon plant can produce 60 Trax per hour, essentially completing one per minute. Its annual production capacity is 280,000 units.
The Changwon plant has not only automated welding. From sorting parts to mating tires to bodies, robots do the work. GM Korea introduced a bin picking system to this body shop. It is an automation technology in which a robot arm uses a three-dimensional (3D) vision camera to pick parts and feed them into the process, and the robot arm sometimes picked up a part, stared at it for about one second, and then placed it in position. It can recognize not only parts but also body frames.
The automation that stood out in the assembly plant was the robot arms that mount wheels and tires. A robot arm sequentially picked up nuts and a tire, then waited for the vehicle coming along on a hanger. Upon arrival, it swiftly fitted the tire and tightened the nuts. From nuts to mating, it took only 30 seconds. From the moment of picking the parts to mating, the vehicle did not stop. These robot arms also distinguish tires. It is based on input values, not artificial intelligence (AI).
Thanks to these facilities, the fully automated paint shop, and a 5,250-ton-class press line, GM Korea's Changwon plant is called the "mother factory" within GM. Other GM plants around the world learn the Changwon plant's equipment and operating methods. Lee Dong-woo, GM Korea's executive vice president in charge of domestic production, said, "These are areas GM tried for the first time globally, and plants in other countries also come to tour," adding, "Switching to hybrid vehicles (HEVs) or electric vehicles is possible at the touch of a button, so there is no problem producing next-generation models."
GM Korea emphasized that Trax units produced at the Changwon plant and exported through Gapo New Port have a significant impact on the local economy. GM Korea said the scale exported through GM's global network is about 1.4 trillion won annually, of which 25% comes from the South Gyeongsang area. Bang Seon-il, GM Korea's vice president of purchasing, said that is "why the Changwon plant is a core base for the global strategy."
As of last year, the supply chain size for producing and exporting GM Korea's Trailblazer and Trax was 5.5 trillion won, with more than 1,600 domestic first-tier suppliers and 260,000 employees.
A GM Korea official said, "The Trax, which began production as one pillar of 'GM Korea's business normalization,' has become a 'steady seller,' ranking No. 1 in exports for three consecutive years since 2023," adding that it "has become a growth driver for the region and for partner suppliers."