General Motors Co.'s South Korean unit introduced the Spark minicar, the first step in a 150-plus country roll-out, as the automaker seeks a revival by focusing more on small vehicles and Asian operations.
GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co. will begin selling the Spark domestically, under the name Matiz Creative, from Sept. 1, it said in an e-mailed statement today. The car, fitted with a 1-liter gasoline engine and a four-speed automatic transmission, can travel 17 kilometers (10.6 miles), per liter.
Incheon, South Korea-based GM Daewoo has become the global center for GM's development of mini and small cars, as the carmaker adds more fuel-efficient vehicles amid rising concern about oil prices and the environment. GM, the world's No. 2 automaker, collapsed into U.S. government ownership amid tumbling domestic sales and plunging demand for sport-utility vehicles and trucks.
"The Spark can trigger a sales recovery for GM and help cement GM Daewoo's role within GM," said Sohn Myung Woo, a Seoul-based analyst at Woori Investment & Securities Co. "It has a symbolic importance for both GM Daewoo and its parent."
GM Daewoo spent 295 billion won ($236 million) over 27 months developing the car. In South Korea, it will cost from 9.06 million won ($7,200) to 10.09 million won, with three sub models. The Spark will later be sold across Europe, Asia and North America. A version with a manual transmission may be added from early 2010 depending on demand, according to the statement.
