Vauxhall sans Opel could reallign with GM Daewoo, Holden
Chevrolet Aveo, a.k.a Chevrolet Kalos/Daewoo Gentra/Holden Barina/Pontiac Wave – Click above for a high-res image gallery
Eyebrows raised at reports that General Motors could hold on to its British subsidiary Vauxhall even if – or, more likely, when – its German counterpart Opel would leave the family. With the model ranges of the two European GM divisions intertwined, a Vauxhall without Opel would seem like an empty shell. New reports suggest, however, that instead of re-plastering Opels with the griffin badge, the British marque could instead continue operations under GM ownership by importing products made by GM Daewoo Auto & Technology.
The restructuring of Vauxhall would also likely call for greater cooperation with GM Daewoo's neighbor to the south, Holden, which otherwise stands to lose significant revenues from the disintegration of GM's global operations, with Vauxhall and Pontiac having accounted for nearly half the production of its VE Commodore, sold in the UK as the Vauxhall VXR8 and in the United States as the Pontiac G8. Holden, for its part, also recently replaced many of its Opel-based products with rebadged GM Daewoo models. In the likely absence of Opel, the General's assets in England, Australia and Korea would likely end up cooperating more closely. However with Daewoos already on the European market as Chevrolets, the realignment could effectively be the end of the bowtie in Europe.
Gallery: 2008 Chevy Aveo 5-door (EU)
[Source: Autocar]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Iwa 4:13PM (5/03/2009)
"However with Daewoos already on the European market as Chevrolets, the realignment could effectively be the end of the bowtie in Europe."
I wonder if that would mean GM would sell the Corvette in Europe as a Chevrolet again, instead of it's own brand.
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AMcA 7:18PM (5/03/2009)
Just goes to show what a fiendishly complex beast that GM, the dying giant, is.
I suspect that if Vauxhall survives, it's UK only, with the Chevy name remaining on the continent. Vauxhall hasn't sold on the continent in decades. And they've been working hard to establish Chevy there now for some time, and they're actually making progress.
At least that would be the rational way to approach the branding problem. But GM hasn't been too rational about branding in the last couple decades. "Yeah, people have been buying LeSabres for 50 years. I bet they're bored with that name. Let's call 'em LaCrosses! That'll ignite sales!"
hypermiler 10:35PM (5/03/2009)
Vauxhall reselling Daewoos depend on GM keeping Daewoo. And things aren't looking good. Basically, Korean government is demanding GM to hand over the control of Daewoo by selling a 30% stake(for a total of 58%) before it would inject any additional liquidity into Daewoo. If GM refuses, then Daewoo goes bankrupt and government gets to resell Daewoo to one of Korean suiters in the bankruptcy court auction. Either case, Korean government envisions regaining control of Daewoo and forming a second world class automotive group to rival Hyundai-Kia.
In other word, Daewoo itself is following the footsteps of Opel.
Matthew 3:25AM (5/04/2009)
If GM holds on to Daewoo it could simply continue to sell them in Europe alongside Opels, but they would compete head-to-head rather than the budget brand.
If the Korean government regains control of Daewoo, GM can simply start making them with a partner in China instead.
adrian 7:32AM (5/04/2009)
This would be a complete failure for Vauxhall. I can't see anyone in the UK buying them. GM, Just have the courage to stick with Opel and sell the other brands.
hypermiler 9:46AM (5/04/2009)
@ Matthew
> If the Korean government regains control of Daewoo, GM can simply start making them with a partner in China instead.
Chinese, namely SAIC, doesn't have engineering resources to engineer US/Euro-legal competitive cars, as evident by Roewes and MGs. Problem with SAIC is that their engineering mentor was SsangYong, and touches of SsangYong will be found in SAIC cars for decades, just like how you can still find influences of Mitsubishi in Hyundai models long after their separation, because current Hyundai's senior engineers were trained by Mitsubishi. By "touch of SsangYong" I do not imply positive...
@ adrian
> This would be a complete failure for Vauxhall. I can't see anyone in the UK buying them. GM, Just have the courage to stick with Opel and sell the other brands.
GM doesn't have money to keep Opel and Daewoo, so German and Korean governments are trying to take them back from GM and hand over to new owners.
Sea Urchin 4:16PM (5/03/2009)
Can someone Photoshop Vaux's logo on Aveo?
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the_MVP_X 4:20PM (5/03/2009)
And put the British police trim on it :P
Hike15 4:19PM (5/03/2009)
its a shame the aveo is a pretty bad car...the red one in the album is actually descent looking
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Sea Urchin 4:27PM (5/03/2009)
Bad? The nicest show on TV, AutoWeek said outright DO NOT BUY THIS CAR, that's how bad it is.
This is the problem with GM, how can Malibu improve the perception when it has to fight for perception with Aveo.
Flea 4:19PM (5/03/2009)
poor vauxhall, from rebadged opels (very competent cars) to rebadged-chevrolets-rebadged daewoos (VERY poor cars).
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alex 4:22PM (5/03/2009)
the saturn vue and chevy cruze are daewoos.... don't know if i'd call those very poor cars
Hike15 4:26PM (5/03/2009)
someone is stuck in the past, when daewoos and chevys really did suck...now they are actually descent cars, with excpetions.
Sea Urchin 4:28PM (5/03/2009)
Alex does this car look familiar?
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_jF7ldhxFY_w/Rrbe7pi22DI/AAAAAAAACdQ/_Q19Ogx7Rso/2007-GM-Daewoo-G2X-Front-Angle-Top-Studio-1920x1440.jpg
Sam 4:31PM (5/03/2009)
I agree with Flea. As its stands the Vauxhall/Opel catalogue car is pretty impressive. The corsa is a nice cheap small car. Insignia is a cheap but reasonable executive car and the Zafira is an excellent MPV.
@Alex
The Saturn Vue? Already badged as a VauxhallOpel Antara. The Chevrolet Cruze is a Lacetti, yes its looks alright and it isn't a bad touring car but its no where near as good as its rival the Insignia.
Practically rebranding Daewoo/Chevrolet would mean a death Vauxhall and the certain closure of Ellesmere Port factory.
Flea 4:38PM (5/03/2009)
@Hike15
I should have specified that I'm from Europe, so we don't get the Vue, and the Cruze unfortunately hardly compares with the Insignia. Chevys in general are seen as the bottom of the cheap car barrel, on the same level as Dacia.
WilliamTell 4:58PM (5/03/2009)
the saturn vue is sold in europe as a vauxhall/opel antara
Beastage 5:10PM (5/03/2009)
@ alex, the Cruze is not a daewoo rebadget car, it is a new platform, designed in US, Germany and South Korea, there is nothing remotely similar to the previous rebadged GM cars.
alex 5:10PM (5/03/2009)
thank you all for pointing out that the saturn vue is already sold in Europe. i am very aware of this. allow me to simplify my point for your simple minds:
the article states that vauxhall could become more dependent on GM Daewoo for vehicles if Opel is sold off. Flea then said that Daewoos are "VERY poor cars". I offered up the VUE and the Cruze as evidence that Daewoo can turn out a pretty darn solid vehicle, or at least a vehicle that is better than "VERY poor"
does that make sense now?
P.V. 5:40PM (5/03/2009)
Let's get a few things straight:
The Cruze is NOT a rebadged Daewoo. In fact, the new Lacetti is more a rebadged Cruze.
The Cruze does NOT compete with the Insignia. The new Tosca is in the same class as the Insignia (the Tosca, while competent/not too bad at all, is nowhere near the level of the Insignia; the Insignia competes with the Mondeo, VW Passat, et al, while the Tosca competes with the Skoda Superb, et al).
The Vue is NOT a rebadged Daewoo. It is a rebadged Opel Antara.
The G2X is NOT an original Daewoo design. It is a rebadged Saturn Sky (as is the new Opel GT).
Look at the rest of Daewoo's current (original: exclude Winstorm, Veritas, G2X) lineup: Aveo, Lacetti, Tacuma. They aren't very good at all.
I think Flea has a point. QED.