GM Daewoo passes Kia as Korea's No. 2 automaker
When General Motors took the reins of Daewoo in 2002, they saw a future in the then bankrupt Korean automaker. Since then, GM has poured a considerable amount of resources into Daewoo and now, that effort has paid off. GM Daewoo has taken back its former standing as the number two automaker in Korea.
Kia has occupied the second place spot, right below its parent company Hyundai, for the past four years. However, GM Daewoo was able to out-produce the automaker by some 180,000 vehicles in 2006.
Close to 80-percent of GM Daewoo's are shipped abroad, with exports up over 33-percent, while domestic sales rallied 19.2-percent. Some of those aforementioned exports arrive in the U.S. wearing Chevrolet's bowtie.
Since GM's sales have been waning over the past few years, this sort of news is an unlikely bright spot for the automaker as a whole.
[Source: Edmunds]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
searchmycountry 11:47PM (4/28/2009)
Wow. nice to see this posting.i want to share u one thing that as Korea is one of the best auto maker country and also Korean Auto Parts are exported all over the world.
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Um... no 8:51AM (1/05/2007)
If all Korean cars are as balls as the Aveo, I feel sorry for the Koreans.
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menice 9:08AM (1/05/2007)
just 'cause you throw money at something' doesnt mean the product is good...look at Ford. or GM...
Kia still builds a better made vehicle, but this is how they and Hyundia started, and Honda for that matter. move out inexpensive 'not so crappy for the money' cars for a few years, build some revenue and turn things in the right direction. look at them now.
Good luck daewoo.
Remember, Dont do as your parents do.
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LGM 1:31PM (1/05/2007)
In early 90's the Vectra based Daewoo Espero, the Korean "Opel Senator" Daewoo Prince and Super Salon and the Kadett's brothers Daewoo Cielo, Racer, Nexia and Heaven was excellents options as a Chevrolet with low prices here in Brazil, a lot of people here miss them, but until Lanos, Nubira, Leganza, Daewoo have lost his brightness, I think Daewoo cars actually have no personality enough than a Kia...
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Glenn 9:43AM (1/05/2007)
Of COURSE Daewoo is going to do exactly as it's parent does. It'll be ruination for them within a decade, just as happened to other GM "partners" such as Isuzu and Saab. Subaru got off the hook and went to swim with Toyota, which saved them.
In late 2003 we needed a very cheap new car so we could give our 1999 Neon to our college age son. I did not wish to buy some used POS. We had bought an '02 Sonata in January and liked it, but we had the budget for a $8000 new car.
Impossible? Well, I did some on-line searching and knew of Daewoo, and knew of the GM "trick" where they yanked the rug out from under DaewooUSA (in fact, for about 6 or 9 months GM would not even sell spare parts to DaewooUSA, and DaewooUSA went bankrupt). This meant that 'virtually new' (could not be SOLD as new) Daewoo cars were available for - 1/2 price of MSRP.
We found a dealer in Ohio (a Ford dealer, no less) which carried several hundred 'virtually new' 2002 Daewoo Lanos hatchbacks, Nubira compact sedans and Leganza mid-sized sedans, essentially it seemed is if they were base-automatic models (probably an aborted shipment of cars intended for rental car use that was caught en-route to the US when GM did the dirty deed).
Picked up a dark blue automatic Nubira compact for $7800, MSRP $14,800. It was actually one of the best cars we'd ever owned for reliability, had very few problems (which is good since the only Daewoo dealer was 2 1/2 hours away - told you I'd taken a big chance). My parents still drive it (we gave it to them last year). The car will now never see 60,000 miles (and the need for a cam-belt change) and will last the duration for my retired parents.
So after having the car awhile, yeah, we knew it was pretty cheap in the interior department but mechanically it was good. The metal work was very good and paint was as good as any premium car manufacturer.
GM stole the company for pennies on the dollar and it was the only smart move GM have made in decades. Watch them screw it up, just like they did Saab & Isuzu....
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porker 11:06AM (1/05/2007)
I (briefly) wondered what the "We Hate the US and its cars" crowd would say about this, after their blind loyalty to the toyota "we sell more so we must be the best" line. I see I didn't have to wait long. GM builds high-quality vehicles that are in many ways superior to anything the foreign makes produce, but they'll never get the respect of the anti-American crowd.
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ssgtakeo 11:40AM (1/05/2007)
I disagree Porker, I used to be one who never thought a domestic make was worth considering. Now there are quite a few desirable domestic models ( I'm just waiting a few iterations to see if they work out the bugs over time like Toyota, Honda and Nissan are known for).
The sad part is that just when GM and Ford are producing their highest quality product is just when they will suffer their biggest losses.
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Sung-Hwan Joo 11:55AM (1/05/2007)
Daewoo is still No.3 maker (or maybe No.4 after Renault-Samsung)in Korean's mind and in terms of quality.
Daewoo is No.2 is because they exported lots of cars in
name of Chevrolet and Suzuki. Their quality is not up to Hyundai/Kia's level. They are just cheap. Most koreans knows that. If you just count the sales number in Korean Domestic Market, Daewoo is not even
close to Kia. I know this because I am a Korean and love cars.
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Mike 8:43PM (1/05/2007)
The title here is the key - "automaker". So they produced more cars than Kia - woohoo! That doesn't mean diddly squat - just ask Daimler Chrysler.
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Bob 12:12PM (1/05/2007)
Porker, you're making absolutely no sense. ts, you're a sad individual.
#9 is right. The only reason Daewoo's doing so well now is because of all of the Chevy and Suzuki branded models around the world.
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porker 12:56PM (1/05/2007)
OK, Bob, I'll type s-l-o-w-e-r. The only reason that so many of the anti-American car crowd says that toyota is better than the American cars is because of their high sales volume. GM buys Daewoo, turns it around from bankruptcy, outsells all but one of the korean makes, but it is still inferior in these people's minds. These are the people who are still trumpeting toyota's "quality" even though they recalled more cars than they sold last year. The only gripe they have about GM is that it's an American company that happens to buld better quality cars than its foreign competition, something it didn't do for a while, but they can't admit that.
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LaughingTooHard 2:04PM (1/05/2007)
Funny how simple minded most posters here are. South Korea, like Japan, has two-faced, sorry - DUAL buyer mentality. Some buy for new (quality or durability not important) and some buy for quality (price and value not important). This is a deeply ingrained mentality so cheap disposable cars have a place in both countries.
But let's look past that, what cars are both countries buying? Ah yes, THEIR OWN COUNTRY'S MAKES! Not BMW, not VW not Ford or Chevy. They buy the vehicle made by their country. If it were rebadged a Pontiac or Chevy they just wouldn't sell.
Toyota NA is not an American Company or is Honda NA, they are sneaky extensions of the Japanese company used to get around laws and import taxes. Daewoo is still a Korean company that if GM falters will be bought back by a Korean owner. They know this and are biding their time until that can happen so the population accepts their failure and looks forward.
The biggest difference is the Japanese would drink "paipu kurina" (drain cleaner) before they saw GM buy Honda and re-badge them as Chevy's for sale in their homeland. The Korean's are OK with it.
Which country seems less xenophobic and who is worthy of your money? Think people! You are being lead around like sheep by a master who would have happily extended their "Rape of Nanjing" to Los Angeles and all the way to New York if we let them, and as it stands right now, we are.
That being said, I do hope GM lures a few good subcompact designers away from Daewoo to work at GM, making small cars we actually want.
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Phil 5:08PM (1/05/2007)
Daewoo is now the focus of global A/B car development for GM. Their first all-new offering in 8 years will be an '09 model car. Save all real judgement until those cars arrive as Chevy Aveo '09.
In the meantime, the '07 Aveo is way better than Spectra/Rio/Accent (although it's mileage is suspect) for a lower price so revise your thinking. Check it out on GM.com. The interior even puts them to shame.
And by the way, just to show you how biased the media is, research the past 4 years of crash outcomes from Hyundai/Kia and you will find that FUEL TANKS RUPTURED among other unthinkable happenings, but NHTSA and IIHS allowed them A SECOND CHANCE, ESSENTIALLY A RIGGED DO-OVER, AND THE MEDIA NEVER SAID MUCH ABOUT IT!
THIS IS WELL-DOCUMENTED FACT!
IMAGINE THE UPROAR IF IT WERE GM OR FORD!!!!!!
The 2007 Hyundai Elantra is the first car from that brand that I would say is thoroughly engineered. If you are driving ANY EARLIER MODEL HYUNDAI/KIA MODEL YOU ARE DRIVING A DEATHTRAP. PERIOD.
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Paul Gave Me a Blowjob 2:57PM (1/05/2007)
Daewoo...still makes me want to gag.
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sfast 3:53PM (1/05/2007)
I don't understand how they can't count Kia and Hyundai but they can count Daewoo, Chevy and Suzuki all under the same name.
It really seems like the story means that Daewoo is still number 3.
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Sung-Hwan Joo 3:50PM (1/05/2007)
To #13,
Media was Biased? How funny....
What earlier model? which year?
I know Hyundai/Kia was not particularly good, but was not dead trap either.
Now, They are on the top of crash rating in most category. Please don't call it media bias.
Koreans know Korean company better than Americans do.
Koreans don't buy Aveos (they are called Kalos(2 door) and Zentra(4 door) in korea) because they know what kind of car they are. Instead, they buy Accent/Rio.
Only reason Aveo does sell well in U.S is it's called Chevrolet not Daewoo. Aveo is terrible car even in korean standard.
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Eric Elinow 5:15PM (1/05/2007)
I've made mention of this many times before but just to clarify for all of the individuals out there are obviously are NOT up on their automotive history. Daewoo has always been working with GM. Daewoo's motors in the past, and modern GM Daewoo (GM DAT)'s motors and transmissions are all Opel Designs built by Holden in Australia. All of the Standard gearboxes are Getrag units.
The engines found in pretty much most Vauxhall and Opel cars from the mid 80's through the late 90's and even early 2000's are either direct relations to the curent engines used in the GM DAT cars, or share much of the block and head designs. The transmissions are much the same as well.
The Famed bulletproof 2.0GSI and 2.0GTE 16v engines from various Vauxhalls and Opels are what you find in the modern Chevrolet Lacetti/Optra (NA Version) (Suzuki Reno), with the slight exception in that they are ultra low emissions rated.
Rather than uninformed people continually bashing that which they don't know about nor care to understand, refrain from commenting unless you're willing to make an effort to know the facts.
Also note that the new Saturn Vue (whose twin is the Opel Antara) is a Daewoo design. The Chevrolet Captiva which has been getting rave reviews outside of the US (the one market it isn't sold in), is a Daewoo product.
Open your eyes people, they're not trying to compete with Ferrari and what not, but they are truly making a car with quality components and a modern Italian design. The current Optra5/Lacetti5 (Buicks HSV, etc) has a design close to that of the famed Integrale from Lancia but given that it was the same famed designer from ItalDesign in Turino, IT it should really be no surprise.
You can disagree with designs, but know that the core drive train and suspension bits are quality german designs. The weak point of these cars are mainly the fabric modeled seating patterns and the horrid stock tyres.
Eric
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Sung-Hwan Joo 11:42PM (1/05/2007)
To Eric.
Open Eyes? You're kidding.
At least I know the engines of Daewoo car came from Holden and German design.
So What? Bulletproof?
Daewoo's Lanos,Leganza,Nubira's engines are terrible.
Their engines are seriously outdated and unreliable.
I know this because many of my friends owned/owns daewoo cars. Many of Daewoo cars had numerious problems like premature timing belt failure.
Their built quility are not good either. All of my friends' cars have a cracked dashboard.
Also, many auto experts rated daewoo product (including Chevy Aveo,Suzukis) worse than other cars incluing other korean and american built cars.
Sad things to say it,but Daewoos are not good cars.
I keep saying it even though I am a Korean.
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Eric Elinow 12:56AM (1/06/2007)
#17: Sung-Hwan Joo
There is something you ought be aware of regarding the Opel/Holden engines we're talking about. The bulletproof engine/tranny combo i referred to as such is the 2.0l and above displacement engine, the U20SED which is related to quite a few other motors from Vauxhall and Opel. The Engines are all Eco-Tec motors, the difference being that the 1.6, 1.4 and 1.2 litre engines are of an older GM design, and most definitely not of the same history as the 1.8-2.2 liter Family II motors which most of the world see (at least in their higher end).
In fact in North America, the smallest Daewoo motor ever sold was the 1.6 (and it still is in the Kalos/Aveo) but overwhelmingly the 2.2 in the older Leganza and Nubira along with the 2.0 in the Optras, Forenzas, Renos, etc are quite solid motors with the one weak point being that it is still a belt driven cam and as such needs to be changed according to the strict 95,000 km interval with inspect at half.
Part of your experiences with Daewoo is most likely going to be with the smaller outdated Family I motors which are sold in Korea primarily because of the existing tax laws regarding engine displacement and costs incurred for ownership. Lets also not forget that the Lacetti specifically has been overtaking the ranks of most exported car out of Korea right now, ahead of both Hyundai and Kia.
Your obvious disdain for a car company which solely by its associated with an American based firm is lacking in hard fact and solely based upon personal dislike apparently. Do you speak so poorly of the Daewoo sold in Korea which is just a rebadged Saturn Sky/Opel/Pontiac? How about the Captiva?
I've also had quite a bit of correspondence with several of the individuals who worked through the GM DAT merger since late 2002 and everything I've heard points to this being not only good for GM and the Korea auto manufacturing industry, it was good for all of the workers who were originally laid off due to the bankruptcy. GM painstakingly kept their promised and re-hired and and every former worked of Daewoo which still wanted employment only a couple years after the initial investment and we're talking many thousands of people. GM DAT is good for Korea and great for GM globally.
Eric
www.europeanisation.net
autoviews.blogspot.com
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losburritos 1:29AM (1/06/2007)
I cant believe all you 'tards are fighting over a Daewoo over the internet. Nerds vs Geeks.
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