Automotive industry in North Korea

The automotive industry in North Korea is a branch of the national economy, with much-lower production than that in South Korea. North Korean motor vehicle production is geared towards military, industrial and construction goals; there is little car ownership by private citizens. In addition to cars and trucks, North Korea produces buses, trolleybuses and trams.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is not involved with the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles (OICA) or any other United Nations industrial committee, so information about its motor vehicle industry is limited. The OICA does not publicize figures for automobile production in the DPRK. As reported by a limited number of observers with firsthand knowledge, North Korea has the capability to produce 40,000 to 50,000 vehicles a year; however, within the past few years only a few thousand vehicles have been produced due to its ongoing economic crisis.

The North Korean automobile industry had its origins during the Soviet era, and the DPRK began motor-vehicle production with licenses obtained from the USSR. The Soviet Union provided assistance in building automotive plants in the country, which were then equipped with technology developed by the Soviet Union. North Korea's first domestically produced automobiles were copies of Soviet designs, such as the GAZ-51 midi-truck, GAZ 69 off-road four-wheel drive vehicle and the GAZ-M20 Pobeda passenger car.

More recently, North Korean vehicles have been copies of foreign vehicles via reverse engineering. The DPRK has purchased vehicles made by Mercedes-Benz (such as the W124), Jeep, Honda, Nissan, Subaru, Suzuki, Marcopolo, Changan Automobile and Brilliance Auto and reproduced them. North Korea has also begun exporting domestically produced vehicles to other countries, notably Vietnam; Mekong Auto sells Fiat-licensed vehicles to Vietnam.

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