GM Expansion Across the Globe: Brazil, Hungary, Poland

10/01/96

GM to Announce New Car Factory in Brazil

Reuters reports that the Jornal do Brasil published an article saying that GM is expected to announce plans to construct a third car factory in Brazil. The newspaper said that GM would invest around $600 million in a plant to produce a compact car similar to Ford's recently announced Ka. The paper said that GM would make the announcement as early as this week.

The facility will probably be located in Minas Gerais or Santa Catarina and GM has already contacted various Brazilian banks and the government concerning the operation. GM's decision to build the factory reflects high demand for compact cars, which account for sixty percent of all car sales in the country.

If the newspaper report is confirmed, GM will join a host of international car manufacturers. Volkswagen, Toyota, Honda, Ford, Renault and Audi have all announced new investments and operations in Brazil.

GM Opens Opel Plant In Hungary

The Associated Press reported that General Motors has opened a $155 million motor parts assembly plant in Szentgotthard, Hungary, close to the country's western border with Austria. GM's expansion in Hungary will double its engine production capabilities in the country to 460,000 engines per year. The plant will employ 140 people. GM's current operations in the town--an assembly plant--employ 3,000 workers.

Hungary's state news agency MTI reported that GM expects to produce 11,000 cars and 299,000 engines in Hungary this year. The engines will be exported to GM auto assembly plants in seven European countries and Brazil.

GM's Delphi Takes Full Stake in Polish Plant

Reuters has reported that General Motors' Delphi sp zoo raised its one-percent share of Polish radiator and heating systems maker ZSM to a full stake, taking over the company. The amount GM paid to buy the plant, which is based in the central Polish province of Kalisz, was not disclosed.

Delphi sp zoo formed last month when GM's Delphi Harrison Thermal Systems, based in New York, took one percent of the Poland's state-owned Zaklady Sprzetu Mechanicznego (ZSM) machinery plant. ZSM employs 900 and is the largest Polish producer of radiators and heating systems for cars, and portable gas heaters.

Delphi sp zoo President Janusz Wojtowicz said the plant produced radiators and heating systems for Polish subsidiaries of South Korea's Daewoo and Italy's Fiat, and for export. "We will continue to export to Germany, Britain, Italy, Ireland, Slovakia, Sweden and New Zealand," said Wojtowicz.

Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel