Company overview
Daewoo Motors, established in 1937 as National Motors, evolved through several name changes before becoming Daewoo Motor Co. in 1982 following acquisition by the Daewoo Group. The company initially assembled and sold Datsun Bluebird vehicles, becoming the first automotive manufacturer in South Korea after the government’s Automobile Industry Promotion Policy was implemented. In 1982, Daewoo Motor began producing vehicles based on General Motors models, including the Royale series and later the Lanos. By 1998, Daewoo Motor acquired SsangYong Motor, only to sell it again in 2000 due to financial difficulties. In 2002, General Motors acquired Daewoo Motor, renaming it GM Korea and replacing the Daewoo brand with Chevrolet. Overseas operations included joint ventures in Ukraine (producing the ZAZ Lanos), Romania (manufacturing Daewoo Cielo, Matiz and Nubira models for the local market and export), Poland (producing Daewoo Lublin van and Honker pick-up truck under the Daewoo-FSO joint venture), Uzbekistan (assembling Matiz and Nexia) and Czech Republic (producing Daewoo-Avia vehicles). Before its acquisition, Daewoo successfully marketed cars in Europe and the United States, achieving notable sales success with models like the Espero and Matiz. Following the acquisition, Daewoo’s vehicles were rebranded as Chevrolets globally.
