Sleek cars helped Korean automaker survive
Matiz Creative
For GM Daewoo, the third largest automaker in Korea, the year 2009 didn’t start off smoothly. Concern over the survival of the company grew when its parent company General Motors filed for bankruptcy. The exchange rate also played against the automaker and the worldwide global recession affected the company’s sales.
However, GM Daewoo has never given up, even in the face of adversity.
Last year the automaker introduced the Matiz Creative, a mini car, and the Lacetti Premiere ID, a compact sedan with an l.8-liter engine.
Both cars will continue to tow the automaker through 2010 until later in the year, when the new upper midsize vehicle that the automaker is working on now will be released. In fact, the contributions both cars made to the company in late 2009 were huge.
Sales of the Matiz Creative, at 3,067 units, and the Lacetti Premiere, at 4,812 units, helped boost those numbers.
“We have benefited from the popularity of the Matiz Creative and the Lacetti Premiere,” said Rick Labelle, the company’s vice president of sales, service and marketing. “We anticipate stronger sales in 2010 based on the positive market response to these products.”
The Matiz Creative, which was introduced in Korea in September 2009, was a sensation right from the start with a stylish new design and spacious interior that distinguished it from its competition. Unlike other vehicles of the same size that have a cutesy feel, the exterior of the Matiz Creative has a dynamic design and linear shape that gives it an edgy appearance.
The vehicle’s interior is innovative for a vehicle in its class. Instead of the typical dashboard, the vehicle has a meter cluster inspired by motorcycle designs.
GM Daewoo invested a total of 295 billion won ($262 million) over the course of 27 months to develop the mini car.
The Matiz Creative has an S-TEC II engine with four-speed automatic transmission that was developed for the mini car. An S-TEC II engine has a Port De-Activation (PDA) system that not only reduces carbon dioxide emissions but also contributes to combustion stability at low speeds and provides optimal performance at high speeds. The engine has a displacement of 1000 cc.
The vehicle was first exported in November 2009, when it left for the European market. The automaker is planning to export the mini car to 150 markets around the world.
The automaker’s other top seller, the Lacetti Premiere ID, launched in October.
The 2010 Lacetti Premiere, which runs on a 1.8-liter ECOTEC III engine, is the third incarnation of the midsize passenger sedan. The first model, introduced in 2008, had a 1.6-liter engine. The company released a diesel model in 2009.
The Lacetti Premiere ID has strengthened the automaker’s lineup of compact sedans, demand for which has grown in recent years amidst the global economic downturn.
By Lee Ho-jeong [ojlee82@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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