Craiova, between GM and Daewoo

GM Daewoo, the company established by US General Motors Group and the lenders of Korean vehicle maker Daewoo Motor last year decided to sell its cars branded as Chevrolet, so that its distribution strategy for the Eastern European market can be considered clear. However, things are far from clear when it comes to the producers in this region that are still held by Korean Daewoo Motor Group. This is how things stand on the Romanian market, where Daewoo Motor holds 51% in Daewoo Automobile Romania carmaker. The plant in Craiova was unattractive to General Motors, which bought some of Daewoo Motor’s plants last fall, so that it was allowed to produce Daewoo-branded vehicles until 2005. Everybody is therefore asking “what’s going to happen to Daewoo Automobile Romania after 2005?” This uncertainty has prompted the Privatisation Authority, which owns 49% in the plant, to start pressuring GM Daewoo to devise a strategy for Daewoo Automobile Craiova. The officials at Daewoo Automobile Romania verified that the steps to address the situation had sped up, saying this was the first time when talks between the parties involved were being conducted directly. ZF