SEOUL, (AFP) - GM Daewoo Auto and Technology (GM Daewoo) said it had been selected by General Motors (GM) as the primary source for Chevrolet vehicles to be sold in Europe.
A range of small, compact and midsize vehicles sourced from and distributed via GM Daewoo will go on sale throughout Europe beginning on January 1 next year, the company said.
"We are proud that GM Daewoo has been chosen to drive GM`s growth in one of the world`s most discerning regional markets," said Nick Reilly, GM Daewoo President and CEO.
"Although the presence of the Daewoo brand in Europe will diminish over time, this will do much to ensure we keep growing our export base, an absolute necessity especially in these times of low domestic consumption," he said.
GM Daewoo will now have the potential to go from being a small-scale niche product to a mainstream product with much better growth potential, he said.
GM Daewoo exports have grown from 224,000 units per year from the time the company was formed in 2002 to what is expected to be more than 800,000 units this year.
In 2003, GM Daewoo sold nearly 600,000 vehicles.
"Expanding sales to the rest of Europe will create exciting new opportunities for the export of GM Daewoo products from Korea," Reilly said.
He said going to market as Chevrolet will help GM Daewoo overcome negative perceptions of the brand in Europe due to the financial problems of the former Daewoo Motor.
GM Daewoo, based in the western port of Incheon, was launched in 2002 after GM took over the troubled Daewoo Motor. It has three vehicle manufacturing facilities in South Korea as well as an assembly facility in Vietnam.
GM Daewoo products are also assembled at GM facilities in China, Thailand, India and Colombia.
Vehicles manufactured by GM Daewoo are sold around the world under five GM Group brands.