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GM begins 'due diligence' for taking over Daewoo plant
Monday, 15 March 2004, 20:30 IST
NEW DELHI: Setting the stage for entering India's mini car segment, American automobile major General Motors (GM) has commenced the due diligence process for taking over Daewoo Motors' car assembly line in Uttar Pradesh.
The process is likely to be completed in two months, GM vice president P. Balendran said Saturday on the sidelines of Chevrolet's first anniversary celebrations in India.
Separate teams of GM are already assessing the facility, the purchase of which was agreed upon between GM and Daewoo Motors India Limited (DMIL) on March 3.
The facility would allow GM to produce a new generation of cost-competitive vehicles that can be marketed through Chevrolet's distribution channel. But company officials declined to reveal the price bracket for the new cars.
With the takeover, the concerns of existing Daewoo car owners over supply of spare parts would also be addressed.
GM had already bought most of the passenger car operations of bankrupt Daewoo Motors South Korea. DMIL alone has estimated cumulative debts of about 
14 billion.
The company would, however, take around a year to start production of cars, a GM official said.
DMIL's Surajpur plant in Uttar Pradesh has a capacity to make 85,000 cars a year but has been lying idle since its parent company went bankrupt in November 2000.
Daewoo produced the Matiz mini car and the Cielo and Nexia passenger sedans in India.
GM, whose investments in India include its vehicle manufacturing plant at Halol in Gujarat and a new engineering centre in Bangalore, makes a variant of Daewoo's Matiz in China called the Chevrolet Spark.
GM's current market share in the passenger car segment is a miniscule 2.5 percent, with a product portfolio including the German-engineered Opel Astra, Corsa, Swing, Sail and Chevrolet Optra sedan.
The small car accounts for 78 percent of the Indian market.
Source: IANS
14 billion.
The company would, however, take around a year to start production of cars, a GM official said.
DMIL's Surajpur plant in Uttar Pradesh has a capacity to make 85,000 cars a year but has been lying idle since its parent company went bankrupt in November 2000.
Daewoo produced the Matiz mini car and the Cielo and Nexia passenger sedans in India.
GM, whose investments in India include its vehicle manufacturing plant at Halol in Gujarat and a new engineering centre in Bangalore, makes a variant of Daewoo's Matiz in China called the Chevrolet Spark.
GM's current market share in the passenger car segment is a miniscule 2.5 percent, with a product portfolio including the German-engineered Opel Astra, Corsa, Swing, Sail and Chevrolet Optra sedan.
The small car accounts for 78 percent of the Indian market.
Source: IANS