When you think of popular automakers from around the world, you probably think of brands like Hyundai, Toyota, or Ford; automotive manufacturers that have moved past their borders to find success in international markets as well as domestic. Automakers from the United States, Japan, Germany, and Korea, are just a few countries that make up the large number of countries involved in the automotive manufacturing business, but what about cars from countries we rarely hear about?

When it comes to cars in unfamiliar countries, we often see cars like the Trabant, a car built in East Germany before the end of the cold war. This outdated car was built from 1957 to 1991, and due to the culture that surrounded it, not many changes were made to the car throughout its run. But that was East Germany, a country that no longer exists on the world map. The closest country we have today in terms of secrecy to the outside world is North Korea, and they do in fact, have their own automotive manufacturers.

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A Product That Fits The Country

Sungri 58
Via: ChineseCars.net

For North Korea, some of their largest spendings go into the military, so it is no surprise that some of the biggest automotive production that takes place in the country is consigned to light and heavy-duty truck manufacturing.

The oldest and most historically prolific North Korean automobile company is Sungri Motor Plant, which produced its first vehicle, the Sungri-58 truck, in 1958. While this company also creates passenger vehicles for the general public, these are mostly copies of imports and do not sell very well.

Other large automotive manufacturing companies in Korea include multiple buses, trains, and trolly makers, which serve most of the population.

Related: 10 Fastest Cars To Come Out Of Korea

Pyeonghwa Motors

North-Korean-Car-Header
Via: TopAuto

The largest car manufacturer in modern North Korea is Pyeonghwa motors, a company that was founded in the year 2000 as a joint venture between North Korea and South Korea, most of their vehicles are imported from Vietnam and China due to a partnership with Fiat and Brilliance China Auto.

Just about every car in the Pyeonghwa lineup is a copy of a car from China, which in turn, is a copy of an American, German, or Japanese car.

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A Country That Fails To Innovate

pyeonghwa premio showcase
Via: Car And Driver

With North Korea being a closed country to much of the outside world, this makes innovation and progression difficult for companies. Just like in the rest of the world, competition breeds innovation; with no competition, there is rarely an opportunity to advance.

According to some defectors, North Korean carmakers often use a procedure called “anatomy plan drawing”, which quite literally, deals with drawing up automotive designs by importing a foreign car and disassembling the vehicle piece-by-piece, to sketch the design of the car and copy it.

This leads to cars that look similar to a VW Jetta from 10 feet away, but fail to impress upon further inspection with mismatched body panel gaps and rough quality control.

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If You Can’t Beat Em…

Kim Jong Un Mercedes
Via: AutoEvolution

While North Korea continues to produce vehicles within their own borders, the leaders of the country choose to ride in imports, usually from high-end companies such as Toyotas and Mercedes, showing a lack of confidence in their own country’s production. You wouldn’t see a United States President get into a Hyundai, so it is shocking to see the leader of any country not default to a domestic vehicle from their own country.

In fact, many high-end diplomats and government employees who own cars often opt for imported vehicles, and rarely do these people who are capable of personal car ownership find themselves behind the wheel of a domestic vehicle.

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Classic Cars In North Korea

Gaz
Via: The Financial Express

In almost every country, classic cars have had a foothold in automotive enthusiast culture for years, and North Korea is no different. For this country, one of the most sought-after vehicles is a Russian-built classic called the Volga.

This car, made by Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod, or more popularly known as GAZ, is a luxury vehicle that was produced in Russia from 1956 to 2010. The early Volgas are often seen as the height of luxury vehicles for North Korea, and it is easy to see why with its mixture of American, German, and Russian styling.

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A Future Shrouded In Mystery

Adversiting-in-North-Korea-Phyonghwa-motors-billboard
Via: Bopper Music

It is difficult to tell what is on the horizon for the small secretive country of North Korea, but if the automotive industry is any indication, nothing will be changing anytime soon. With Pyeonghwa, the largest automotive company in the country, being turned over to the government as of 2013, public records are unavailable to view.

It is possible that in the future, North Korea may open itself up to the world, but until then, we can only largely speculate about what is built in those automotive factories just across the DMZ.