4 Popular Cars You Probably Didn't Know Are Built In South Korea

Over the last few decades, South Korea has quietly transformed into one of the major car production hubs in the world. In 2025, Korean factories built more than four million light vehicles, making the East Asian country the world's sixth-largest car-building nation, after China, the U.S., Japan, India, and Germany. However, South Korea exports the majority of the cars it produces and, as a result, ranks as the world's fourth-biggest exporter of cars, with around 2.7 million out of the 4.1 million units built domestically being shipped overseas and accounting for more than $70 billion annually.

Hyundai Motor Group — the parent company of Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis — dominates production, manufacturing roughly 81% of all cars produced in the country. However, overseas companies also play a significant role in the Korean production landscape due to globalization and lower cost of labor, with General Motors (GM) and French automaker Renault making up 11% and 2% of the country's vehicle production, respectively.

Together, these foreign-owned companies account for a few sought-after vehicles that are Korean-made, including those you might not expect, such as the vaunted Chevrolet Trax to the Buick Envista and more. Korean-built GM vehicles are manufactured by General Motors' subsidiary, GM Korea (formerly known as Daewoo Motor until it became a part of GM in 2002), while Renault Korea handles production on behalf of Chinese automaker Geely, which acquired a 34% stake in the company in 2022, and the Renault Group.

GM has been making the Chevrolet Trax in South Korea since 2012, with great success. The compact SUV was South Korea's biggest export car model for several different model years and continues to be one of the best-selling vehicles in the U.S. due, in part, to its stylish exterior design, ample cabin space, generous equipment, and reasonable price tag — it's still the most affordable brand-new subcompact SUV offered by an American automaker.

In 2025, GM reported that it had sold 206,339 units of the Chevrolet Trax in the U.S. alone, a 2.8% increase on the previous year and its best sales performance in the U.S. since the first-generation model launched back in 2012. GM Korea's Bupyeong plant in Incheon produced the first-generation Chevrolet Trax between 2012 and 2022 — the San Luis Potosí Factory in Mexico was the manufacturing hub for North and South America during this time. 

However, for its second generation, which began with the 2024 model year, GM Korea shifted production to the GM Changwon Plant south of Seoul — the same plant that also built the Chevy Spark until 2022. The aim was to increase GM's supply of the second-generation Trax to meet anticipated demand, with the Changwon Plant retooled to make 60 cars an hour. Around 1 million second-gen Chevrolet Trax models were produced at the Changwon Plant between 2023 and 2025. Before the switch, the Bupyeong facility produced more than 1.4 million Trax models.

Like the Trax, the Chevrolet Trailblazer was designed, engineered, and developed by GM Korea. Chevy SUVs have carried the Trailblazer moniker since it debuted in 1999 as an upscale trim level for the S-10 Blazer before it eventually became a standalone model in the range ahead of the 2002 model year. That variant rode on the GMT360 platform (GMT370 for larger EXT variants), built on a truck-based platform, with production lasting right through to the 2009 model year. 

The model currently produced at GM's factory in Bupyeong is a revived version that made a comeback in 2020 as a completely different vehicle — a subcompact unibody crossover SUV built off GM's VSS-F platform. Despite sharing its name but little else with its forebear, interest in the resurrected Trailblazer has been hearteningly strong since its debut. Sales jumped from around 30,000 units in its launch year to over 90,000 in its first full year on the market and have stayed above the 100,000 mark since 2023. Its attractive styling, good fuel economy, and useful cargo room are some of the reasons why the Chevrolet Trailblazer is proving to be such a hit, and GM did its bit to keep it fresh and interesting with a design and technology update in 2024. GM Korea has exported over 980,000 examples of the Chevrolet Trailblazer since it started building the crossover SUV in the East Asian country in 2020.

Another impressive car some people might not realize is made in Korea, the severely underrated Buick Encore GX has called the East Asian country home since debuting for 2020. It is produced on the same line as the Chevy Trailblazer, with which it shares many elements, including the VSS-F platform and engine options. That means a standard 1.2-liter turbocharged three-cylinder engine that makes 137 hp and 162 lb-ft of torque and an available turbocharged 1.3-liter unit with 155 hp and 174 lb-ft of torque.

As with the Trailblazer, you have to choose your engine carefully if you're in need of all-wheel drive, as it is only available with the 155-hp mill. That notwithstanding, the Encore GX appears to still be selling in significant quantities, especially in the U.S. GM data shows that the small luxury crossover SUV sold an impressive 57,528 units in 2025, making it the brand's second-biggest selling car for the year.

If you're cross-shopping the Encore GX and the Chevy Trailblazer, it helps to remember that the Trailblazer is the larger of the two cars, with a slightly longer wheelbase at 103.95 inches versus 102 for the Encore GX. As a result, it has a bit more space in the rear, with 25.3 cubic feet behind the second row and 54.4 cubic feet with the rear seats folded down. With the Encore GX, you get 23.5 cubic feet with all seats upright and 50.2 cubic feet with the rear seats folded. However, what the Encore GX lacks in practicality, it more than makes up for with higher-quality cabin materials, a quieter ride, and a more refined overall experience.

Completing the quartet of "GM Korean Four" is Buick's best-seller for the 2025 model year – the coupe-style Envista. In total, 58,949 Envistas were sold in the U.S. in 2025, making it just a tiny fraction more popular than the Encore GX. This came after 51,316 units of the subcompact luxury SUV were sold to U.S. customers in its first full year on the market in 2024.

As in the case of the Chevrolet Trailblazer and Buick Encore GX, the Envista and Chevrolet Trax are sibling models with a lot of similar DNA. However, while the Chevrolet Trax is produced at the Changwon plant, the Envista is assembled in Bupyeong alongside the Trailblazer and Encore GX. The Envista serves as Buick's entry-level model but is packed with top features, namely an 11-inch touchscreen display, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as rear parking sensors. Higher trims offer more niceties such as an upgraded suspension and perforated leather seats.