CarSeekBlog

The Daewoo brand, of which GM claims a bit over 70% ownership – has been slowly replaced by Chevrolet in many global markets, but now it’s going to meet the same fate in its own country, South Korea, where GM Daewoo models currently make up roughly 10 percent of the market.

As a functioning entity, Daewoo will remain in existence, especially since a quarter of all Chevrolet products sold around the world is built in South Korea. Only the names on the cars and the automaker’s letterhead will be changing. Along with the new Chevrolet branding, GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co. will be known hereafter as GM Korea Co. Of course, South Koreans are pretty patriotic, so the switch from the popular Daewoo name to the very American Chevrolet moniker may well be cause for chatter.

Still, it’s important to remember that Chevrolet fills an important role around the world as GM’s catch-all brand, and it makes sense for the automaker to want to strengthen its foundation. In markets outside North America, Chevrolet is known as a budget brand below Opel, and it’s logo can be found the rear-wheel-drive Commodore (and its variants) from Holden, and many Daewoo-made models.

In South Korea, the Daewoo name is currently seen on the cars we know as the Buick LaCrosse and Chevy Cruze (Daewoo Alpheon and Lacetti, respectively), as well as the Daewoo Tosca, which we know as the Suzuki Verona’s successor. Even the Saturn Sky was known as a the Daewoo GX2 when it was still around.

Filed under: Chevy, In the News by Mel