Ford Motor Co. vehicles sell as much as $13,765 more expensive in Korea than they would in the United States.

The comparison price table obtained from Ford Korea and GM Korea shows the newly-released GM’s muscle car Chevrolet Camaro SS equipped with a 6.2 liter V8 engine that generates 455 horsepower is offered at 50.98 million won ($44,458) per unit in Korea, cheaper than the same class Ford Mustang GT Premium Coupe with price tag of 60.35 million won. In the U.S., Chevrolet Camaro SS is available at $43,990, more expensive than the same Ford Mustang GT Premium selling at $38,740. The prices in dollar term are equivalent to 50.44 million won for the Camaro and 44.42 million won for the Mustang based on the exchange rate of 1,146.7 won per U.S. dollar as of July 4, making the gap of 15.92 million won in the price of the Mustang selling in Korea and the U.S 30 times bigger than the difference of 530,000 won in the price of Camaro in Korea and the U.S.

Prices of other Ford cars are also set higher in the Korean market. Ford Taurus SEL sells at 39.50 million won per unit, 6.63 million won higher in Korea than the price of $28,660 (32.86 million won) in the U.S. The price tag of 45 million won for Ford Taurus Limited is also 6.49 million won higher in Korea than $33,580 (38.5 million won) in the U.S.

Compared to Ford cars, the price gap between GM cars imported to Korea and those sold in the U.S. is narrower. The price of GM’s full-sized sedan Chevrolet Impala LS sells at 34.09 million won per unit in Korea, 830,000 won higher than $29,000 (33.25 million won) in the U.S. The Impala LTZ model is actually cheaper in Korea with a price tag of 38.51 million won, compared $34,820 (39.92 million won) in the U.S.

Since James Kim took the helm of GM Korea as a chief executive officer early this year, the company has been aggressive in luring more Korean consumers by setting prices as low as possible not only for locally produced cars but also for imported models.

A senior official of Ford Korea admitted competitive GM cars are offered at more appealing price range, but maintained that Ford cars cannot be considered expensive in general context of imported brands.

By Chun Beom-joo

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