Brief information about the company:
Brand name: Daewoo (Daewoo Motor Co., Ltd.)
A country: South Korea (Headquarters - Seoul)
Specialization: production cars
Daewoo history began in the already relatively distant 1972 in Korea, when the right to legally engage in automotive manufacturing behind four local companies, which were: Kia, Asia Motors, Hyundai Motor and Shinjin. After some Kia time and Asia Motors merged into one company, and Shinjin was transformed into a joint venture between Daewoo and General Motors.
Having existed in the status of a joint venture (JV) for several years, the company eventually acquired the name Daewoo Motor. By early 1996 Daewoo had built three large technical center: in Worthing (Great Britain), near Munich (Germany) and in Pulyan (Korea). Ulrich Betz has been appointed Chief Technical Officer of the company's projects (he previously held a senior management position at BMW).
The cooperation of the young and dynamically developing Daewoo company with General Motors continued until 1993. And in 1995, Daewoo introduced two models for the German market: Nexia of a small class and Espero of a medium class.
Daewoo Nexia is nothing more than the latest car upgrade Opel Kadett E. License to manufacture this legendary car was acquired by the Koreans back in 1986. In the USA and Canada Nexia car was sold under the name Pontiac Le Mans, and on local market in Korea it became known as the Daewoo Racer.
The Russians first met Nexia in 1993. In March 1995, the model underwent another upgrade and was renamed Nexia (Cielo for Korea). After some time, the assembly of these cars was transferred to Daewoo branches in various countries: UzDaewoo - in Uzbekistan, Red Aksai - in Russia and Rodae - in Romania.
At the end of 1997 the company presents international car dealerships three new models of the concern - Lanos, Nubira and Leganza.
For development and production Lanos car it took two and a half years, and this project cost no less than 420 million dollars. Lanos was the first own development of Daewoo. As conceived by the developers, the new Lanos was supposed to replace its predecessor - Model Nexia. At the same time, the novelty borrowed the suspension and steering from the old woman.
Daewoo's next own development is the Nubira model, which was developed by the company's branch located in England. Designed by I.D.E.A. The birth of the Nubira model (translated from Korean as "to travel the world") began in 1993, and the work was completed 32 months later. For the first time, the novelty was presented to the public at the end of 1994. This is a golf-class car with a transverse engine and front-wheel drive, which replaced the Espero. In Russia, the version is called "Orion".
An automobile company cannot be considered established if there is not a single representative of the business class in the line of its models. The Leganza model was the company's first attempt to break into the level prestigious car. Leganza, according to the laws of the genre, has become the most comfortable and most "fancy" Daewoo car. It was decided to take the body from the Opel Senator as the basis for the design of this model. Italian specialists from Italdesign worked on its refinement.
Daewoo Matiz is a bright urban mini-car with a transverse engine and front-wheel drive. For the first time this model was presented to the audience and potential buyers at an exhibition in Geneva in 1998. And already in October 2000, on Paris Motor Show could get to know updated version Daewoo Matiz.
The Asian financial crisis of 1998 ended with great difficulties for the Daewoo company. Despite this, the South Korean government decided not to nationalize the company. The largest auto giants of the world fought for the right to acquire it.
In September 2002, the South Korean company Daewoo changed its name to GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co., officially coming under the jurisdiction of General Motors.
The founding date of the automaker is March 22, 1967, when Kim Woo Chun created Daewoo Industrial, which manufactures products for various purposes - from weapons to electronic devices.
However, the history of the automobile division, which was not originally part of the chaebol, begins in 1937, when a small car repair company, National Motor, appeared. In 1962, it changed its name to Saenara Motor and began promoting Korean market Datsun cars.
In 1965, the company changes its name to Shinjin Motors and begins cooperation with Toyota Motor.
In 1972, the South Korean authorities allowed only four companies to produce cars: Hyundai, Kia, Shinjin and Asia Motors. Some time later, the manufacturer Shinjin forms a joint venture with General Motors, creating General Motors Korea. In 1976, the company's name changes again - to Saehan Motor.
In 1982, the automaker falls under the control of Daewoo. Corporation forms with General Motors new joint venture, and thus a new automaker, Daewoo Motors, is born. Until 1996, he was engaged in the production of cars based on the models of the American concern under his own brand.
The first was the Daewoo LeMans, which was based on the Opel Kadett E. The car was offered in a three-door hatchback and a four-door sedan. It was the first korean car with thoughtful aerodynamics and digital dashboard. It was equipped with a four-cylinder 2-liter engine with 96 hp, and also received 14-inch alloy wheels, fog lights and rear spoiler.
In 1991, the car underwent a facelift, which included the modernization rear lights and front. In some markets, cars began to be sold under the name Nexia. Russian buyers the model became available in 1993. Later, it began to be assembled at the Krasny Aksai plant, as well as enterprises in Uzbekistan and Romania.
Daewoo LeMans (1986-1994)
In 1988, the all-wheel drive Tico hatchback, copied from the Suzuki Alto, was released. This car sold well in South Asia due to its reliability and unpretentious 0.8-liter engine.
In the early 90s, the automaker collaborated with the Italian design studio Bertone. In 1990, the Espero model appeared, built on the Opel Ascona chassis. The car began to be called the most affordable Bertone development on the market. This model was also produced in the Russian Rostov-on-Don.
Daewoo Espero (1991-1999)
In 1993, the company ceases cooperation with General Motors. In the same year, the Prince sedan appeared, designed on the basis of the Opel Senator, as well as its more comfortable Brougham version.
In 1996, the brand opens large technical centers in the UK, Germany and Korea. New product development is led by Ulrich Betz, who previously worked for BMW AG.
In the mid-1990s, a serious financial crisis broke out in Asia. The entire Daewoo chaebol was in a fever, but management had no intention of saving or restructuring. Driven by ambitions to become a leader among Korean automakers, the brand is investing heavily in the development of new cars: cooperation with ItalDesign and the British technical center Vorsing begins. The company was going to conquer the European and growing South Asian market.
In 1997, several new models were released at once. Among them was Daewoo Lanos, which was developed independently for 30 months. The work on the body design was entrusted to ItalDesign. In total, the company spent about $420 million to prepare for the release. The car is characterized comfortable interior, smooth running, good sound insulation and affordable price.
Daewoo Lanos (1997)
Daewoo Nubira was developed in the British division of the company and received a front-mounted engine and a system front wheel drive. In Russia, it was sold under the name Orion. Since 2002, the model has changed its platform and name to Lacetti.
Daewoo Leganza, also introduced in 1997, was the brand's first business class car. In Russia, the model was sold under the name Daewoo Condor.
In 1998, the popular small car Matiz was released, which fell in love with the public due to its compactness, maneuverability and elegant body designed by ItalDesign.
The model was offered with several levels of equipment, including power steering, air conditioning and radio. When developing the body Special attention focused on the safety of the driver and passengers. The plastic one serves the same purpose. fuel tank, which prevents fuel leakage and fire when the car is turned over.
Daewoo Matiz (1998)
In 1998 the company buys Korean manufacturer SsangYong, whose cars are sold well in the domestic market, but still do not bring the company the expected profit.
Since the beginning of the 90s, Daewoo has been acquiring factories and forming joint ventures V Eastern Europe: a joint venture is being created with the Ukrainian AvtoZAZ, factories are being bought in Poland, Uzbekistan, Romania.
Despite the active predatory actions, the brand is pursued by creditors. In 1999, the company was declared bankrupt, and high-profile legal proceedings began against its leaders.
The automotive division was put up for auction and acquired by General Motors. Production trucks bought by Indian Tata Motors. Since 2002, the company has been called GM Daewoo & Technology Co.
Due to the unfavorable reputation of South Korea, General Motors has decided to phase out brand Daewoo. Since 2004 in Australia and New Zealand, it has been replaced by Holden, since 2005 in the European market - by Chevrolet.
In early October 2015, Daewoo cars produced in Uzbekistan received a new name. The renaming is a forced measure, caused by difficulties with the rights to the Daewoo brand.
This trademark belongs to the South Korean company Daewoo International. It was leased by GM Uzbekistan and was used for cars sent for export. In the home market of Uzbekistan, these cars are sold under by Chevrolet. Daewoo International decided to take away the rights to the Daewoo brand from the Uzbek division of GM in order to produce and sell cars under it in Saudi Arabia.
As a result, the Uzbek automaker had to get out of the situation and come up with a different name for the exported vehicle. New name Daewoo cars exported (including to Russia) - Ravon.
Daewoo was founded in 1967 by a Korean named Kim Woo Chun and was originally engaged in the production and sale of textiles. The name of the company is translated as "Great Universe". The logo is a stylized sea shell.
The main milestones of the company's development
The history of the creation of this company is still striking in its riskiness and luck. To receive his first order, the founder of the company bought someone else's fabric in Hong Kong and went to demonstrate it to customers. One Singaporean entrepreneur liked the fabric and Kim Woo Chun himself so much that he immediately signed a contract for $200,000. Returning to Korea, Kim quickly organized production with this money, bought the necessary machines, and a month later the entrepreneur's order was ready.
Thanks to the abilities and connections of its creator, the company quickly began to develop. Soon it was no longer a company, but a whole group of companies that produced weapons, household appliances and various electronic devices.
The automotive history of Daewoo dates back to the 70s of the last century. In 1972, there were four state-certified automakers in Korea: Kia, Asia Motors, Hyundai, and Shinjin. Kia and Asia Motors soon merged with each other, and 50% of the shares automotive company Shinjin, headquartered in Seoul, was bought from a Korean bank by Daewoo in 1978. The second half of the shares belonged to the American General motors.
In the early eighties, Kim Wu Chun united all branches of his company and created a single concern Daewoo Group.
In the nineties, the share of GM was also bought out by the Koreans, and they began to develop own production. The management of the group of companies announced automotive industry priority.
In 1995, the debut of the Daewoo brand in Germany took place: Nexia and Espero were sent for sale to the Germans. Due to the availability and reliability of the models, the Germans dismantled them like hot cakes. A year later, the company opened three large scientific and technical centers - in the Korean city of Pulyane, Munich (Germany) and Worthing (UK). They were engaged in the development of fundamentally new models. The project was led by Ulrich Betz (former BMW top manager). The company has worked closely with the world's leading design firms.
Turnover Daewoo grew, but debts did not decrease. After the Asian economic crisis in 1998, the company was unable to redeem its debts, and soon the South Korean government was forced to sell it to General Motors. The company was named GM Daewoo Auto&Technology. On March 1, 2011, the brand ceased to exist.
Key models in the history of the brand
Own production started in 1984 with a model based on the Opel Kadett E. In the domestic market, the car was sold under the name LeMans, then Cielo, for Europe it was called. The car became so popular that several new factories were opened for its production - in Romania, Russia, Uzbekistan and Ukraine.
In 1988, a car based on the small car Suzuki Alto, called the Daewoo Tico, was released. This model is famous for its small size and is ideal for large cities.
In 1993, by Bertone, based on the then discontinued Opel car Ascona was designed for . Its sales started in Europe in 1995. Reliability and availability, like Nexia, and attractive design from the Italians made this model one of the leaders in sales.
At the end of 1997, the Daewoo concern's latest own developments - Matiz, Lanos, Nubira and Leganza - were presented to the public. . The design of the car and its dimensions especially appealed to women, which is why it was popular mainly among them.
Lanos - completely own development from Daewoo, which took about 30 months of work and 420 million dollars. Initially, it was assumed that he would replace Nexia, but in fact the model received its own audience among motorists. The model is still relevant today: after minor modifications, it is sold under the names Chevrolet Lanos And .
The Nubira has replaced the Espero and is a mid-range car with front-wheel drive and a transverse powertrain.
Leganza is the first from Daewoo, based on the Opel Senator. The author of this project was the legendary automotive designer Giorgetto Giugiaro, the concept was originally intended for Jaguar.
The history of the Daewoo brand in Russia
Sales of Daewoo cars in Russia started in 1993 with the world-famous Daewoo Nexia. Soon model Espero joined her. Russian motorists fell in love with Koreans for their high-quality (compared to domestic models) assembly, affordable prices, reliability and indestructible suspension.
Daewoo cars assembled at the plant in Taganrog were to be called Doninvest Assol (Lanos), Doninvest Orion (Nubira) and Doninvest Condor (Leganza)
The demand for Daewoo cars in Russia was so great that in 1995 the management decided to start SKD assembly of Nexia and Espero at the Krasny Aksai plant. Negotiations went on for about a year, after which the process of screwdriver assembly was established. Fully finished cars(mainly from Uzbekistan) were disassembled into large components and assemblies and imported to Russia as vehicle kits, where they were then reassembled and sold. For three years since the start of production, about 20 thousand cars were assembled in this way in Rostov.
After evaluating the prospects in Russia, it was decided to establish a full production cycle at the new plant. The site for the experiment was an unfinished workshop at the Taganrog combine plant. The production cycle was supposed to include the assembly, welding and painting of car bodies. Moreover, due to the small size of the workshops, a vertical version of the conveyor was chosen. All equipment supplied to the plant was foreign-made and cost a lot of money. Three models were supposed to leave the assembly line of the automobile plant - Doninvest Assol (Daewoo Lanos), Doninvest Orion (Nubira) and Doninvest Condor (Leganza). But mass production it was not possible to fix it: the August crisis began. There was nothing to repay loans, and the company slowed down at the stage of production of the first batch of cars. On this Daewoo cooperation with Russian factories ended.
Daewoo brand cars currently offered on the Russian market are assembled at the UzDaewoo plant in Uzbekistan. True, now the demand for this Korean brand is declining. According to statistics, in the first half of 2013, 27,274 Daewoos were sold in Russia, while back in 2011 the figure for the same period exceeded 45,000.
Daewoo (Daewoo, more correctly "Teu"; box 대우/大宇- Big Universe listen)) is one of the largest South Korean chaebols (financial and industrial groups). The company was founded on March 22, 1967 under the name Daewoo Industrial. In 1999, it was liquidated by the South Korean government, but individual divisions continued to work as separate enterprises that became part of the General Motors concern.
Subdivisions
The Daewoo company was engaged in the production of electronics, household appliances, cars and weapons. The Daewoo group included about 20 divisions, before the collapse it was the second largest conglomerate in Korea after Hyundai, larger and Samsung. The Daewoo Group included several major corporations:
- Daewoo Electronics is an international electronics manufacturer (sub-sectors Daewoo Electronic Components Co. Ltd, Daewoo Electric Motor Industries Ltd., Orion Electric Co. Ltd.)
- Daewoo International is the largest Korean trading company, since 2010 - affiliated undertaking POSCO
- Daewoo Heavy Industries (DHI) - heavy industry
- Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering - shipbuilding and marine engineering, now DSME, re-listed on the Korean Stock Exchange in 2001
- Daewoo Securities - insurance
- Daewoo Telecom - telecommunications
- Daewoo Construction - construction (built highways, dams and skyscrapers, especially in the Middle East and Africa)
- Daewoo Development Company is a construction company funded by cash from the Daewoo group and created to develop hotels (seven of them are built in Korea, China, Vietnam and Africa). The hotels were designed by the wife of the chairman of the company. The most luxurious was the five-star Daewoo hotel in Hanoi ($163 million) in 1996. There is a golf course and a swimming pool, considered the largest in Asia.
- Daewoo Motor - car manufacturing (sub-sector Daewoo Automotive Components Co. Ltd., Daewoo Bus Co., Ltd., Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Co. Ltd.).
- Daewoo Motor Sales - sale of Daewoo cars. GM cars and other brands were also sold in Korea (Architectural Iaan Div., SAA-Seoul Auto Auction sub-sectors).
- Daewoo Precision Industries
- Daewoo Textile Co. Ltd.
- IAE (Institute for Advanced Engineering) is a comprehensive research and development center.
A crisis
The Daewoo Group faced a deep financial crisis in 1998 due to the Asian financial crisis, increasingly deteriorating relations with the Korean government under President Kim Dae-jung, and their own financial miscalculations.
The Korean government has severely restricted access to cheap and almost unlimited credit. When the economic crisis forced most of the so-called. chaebols to cuts and optimizations, Daewoo, on the contrary, added 14 new firms to the already existing 275 branches - just a year after a huge loss ($ 458 million). At the end of 1997, the four largest concerns (chaebols) in South Korea were in debt, on average, five times the value of their shares. But while Samsung and LG (two other significant concerns) undertook massive cuts and restructurings during the next crisis year, Daewoo acted as if nothing had changed: as a result, the group's debt increased by 40%.
By 1999, Daewoo, then South Korea's second-largest concern with interests in about 100 countries, went bankrupt with debts of about $80 billion.
Shortly after the collapse of the company, its president, Kim Woo-jun, fled to France. Kim Woo-jun returned to Korea in June 2005 after six years abroad and was soon arrested. Kim was accused of defrauding US$43.4 billion, illegally borrowing US$10.3 billion, and smuggling US$3.2 billion out of the country (according to South Korea's Yonhap Press Agency).
On November 15, 2007, Daewoo President Lee Taeyong and thirteen other citizens of this country were convicted in South Korea, among other offenses, in connection with involvement in illegal operations with the Burmese oil and gas industry, as well as in the sale of weapons, weapons technology and equipment to the Burmese junta. The Daewoo crash was and still is considered controversial, due to the complex nature that concerns (chaebols) play in South Korean life. The collapse resulted in billions of US dollars in losses for South Korean banks and the government. In addition, the bankruptcy of the company was not only a financial but also a political crisis, and was a severe blow to a large part of the population.
Daewoo Electronics continues to be active despite the bankruptcy of the parent concern. Other branches and divisions became independent or ceased to exist in the "reorganization" carried out by the Korean government under Kim Dae-jung.
IN North America Daewoo Electronics products are now branded as "Trutech", based on an ODM agreement.
The Daewoo group (except electronics) was reorganized into three parts:
- JSC Daewoo International Corporation- trade and investment;
- JSC Daewoo Engineering & Construction- construction of energy facilities, oil and gas industry, infrastructure, etc.;
- JSC Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering- shipbuilding.
Some parts of Daewoo are absorbed by other companies: General Motors bought out the passenger car division, the production was named " GM-DAT" (eng. General Motors - Daewoo Auto and Technology); Daewoo Commercial Vehicles acquired Tata Motors (India), the world's fifth largest manufacturer of medium and heavy trucks; the production of small arms and auto parts was bought by the company S&T Holdings and since 2006 known as S&T Daewoo.
In 2004, GM removed the Daewoo brand from the Australian and New Zealand markets, causing this trademark irreparable damage [ ] . Daewoo vehicles were announced to be sold under the Holden brand in these countries. From January 1, 2005, cars sold in Europe (including those manufactured in Ukraine) were also renamed (from Daewoo to
