(Image courtesy: pyeonghwamotors.com)

Pyeonghwa Junma

(Image courtesy: pyeonghwamotors.com)

The Ppoggugi

(Image courtesy: pyeonghwamotors.com)

Pyeonghwa Motors General Corp's factory in Nampo

(Image courtesy: pyeonghwamotors.com)

In 1998, a South Korean auto company - Pyeonghwa Motors Corporation (PMC) - tried to lead the way in Korean cooperation and act as a "bridge between South and North Korea ".Consequently, Pyeonghwa Motors General Corp was set up as a joint venture between PMC and a North Korean company. Established in Nampo almost two decades back, it is the North's only "civil automobile assembly company".In a country where the automotive industry has preferred to focus on developing military vehicles , Pyeonghwa Motors General Corp holds the distinction of being the only passenger car company. This makes sense as the demand for such vehicles remains low. The economy is such that most common folk cannot afford to buy their own vehicles - they remain the privilege of the elite.In the backdrop of the conflict-ridden relations between the two Koreas, Pyeonghwa Motors General Corp hoped to stand out as a beacon of peace and harmony. This lofty aim finds a reflection in its name - 'Pyeonghwa' means peace.Even the logo for the automaker is two flying white pigeons on a blue background. The birds are representative of "national reconciliation" and pride as a single-race nation, while the blue background reflects world peace.The website laments the resentment that festers between the two groups and expresses hope for reunification. The stress on this accepted (but often unpopular) long-term goal of the Korean people almost transforms the website into a manifesto on the fraternity of the two entities.While the website eventually does mention business policies like 'developing alternative fuels and pollution-free cars', even in this segment, words and phrases angled toward reunification abound.The automaker's website lists the names of nine cars manufactured by it - Hwiparam, Hwiparam II, Hwiparam III, Ppoggugi, Ppoggugi II, Ppoggugi III, Ppoggugi 4WD, Junma, and Samcheonri. These models range from sedans to vans, station wagons to pick-up trucks and even something on the lines of an SUV.Some vehicles run on diesel, the rest on gasoline. Average fuel consumption ranges from an abysmally-low 6.2 kmpl to a potentially winning 15 kmpl. The cars are uniform in churning out extremely low power, that lies in a meagre range of 60-200hp. With such specifications, these cars seem like rudimentary machines unable to match up to those being produced in other parts of the world.The Ppoggugi, specifically, looks uncannily similar to Fiat's Doblo van. Curiously, it possesses the Fiat branding in front and at the back, right next to that of Pyeonghwa. Some of the other cars, too, are rebadged versions of Chinese and European cars.Pyeonghwa Motors General Corp's factory in Nampo has a production capacity of 10,000 vehicles a year, but has limited itself to churning out a tiny fraction of that. Production peaked at 1,820 vehicles in 2011 and no numbers are available beyond that year.In fact, some venture that production at the facility has come to a complete halt in recent times. A recent report by Associated Press quoted Erik van Ingen Schenau, the author of a book documenting North Korean vehicles, as saying, "I am afraid that since November 2012 there has not been any production of a Pyonghwa vehicle. The newer models with the Pyonghwa badges are all Chinese-made.''Reportedly, full ownership of the company was transferred to North Korea in 2013, after complaints of poor sales and tiny profits. Post that, information about the automaker and facility has been sparse and rare. This is corroborated by the fact that data on the website too screeches to a halt in the year 2012.It is difficult to imagine a time when relations between the North and South Koreas were not fraught with tensions as much as they are today. If not entirely normal, they clearly allowed some semblance of economic cooperation. But today, the dream behind Pyeonghwa Motors General Corp seems a long way from fruition.