Automotive industry in North Korea

In North Korea, motor vehicle production is focused on military and industrial goals, including construction; few private citizens own cars.

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.

North Korea's first domestically produced automobiles were copies of Soviet designs, such as the GAZ-51 midi-truck, the GAZ 69 off-road four-wheel drive vehicle, and the GAZ-M20 Pobeda passenger car.

Since 1950, Sungri Motor Plant in Tokchon has been North Korea's first and largest motor vehicle plant, producing urban and off-road passenger cars and small, medium, and heavy cargo, haulage, construction, and off-road trucks and buses under the names Sungri and Jaju, among others.

[1] Its vehicles are generally for civilian and commercial use; government officials favour foreign imports and the armed forces have their own facilities.

[3] Erik van Ingen Schenau, author of Automobiles Made in North Korea, has estimated the company's total production in 2005 at no more than about 400 vehicles.

[6][7] The Chairman bears a strong resemblance to Mercedes-Benz cars, which are favored by North Korean government officials, and is based on an old Mercedes E-Class design.

[citation needed] In 2006, Pyeonghwa reached an agreement with Chinese manufacturer Brilliance China Auto to assemble its Jinbei Haise vans, which are based on an old version of the Toyota Hiace.