Korea GM Daewoo January Auto Sales Down 15.4% On Year

SEOUL-February 3, 2003; Dow Jones reported that GM Daewoo Automotive & Technology Co. said Tuesday its January auto sales dropped 15.4% on year to 29,096 units, due mainly to fewer overseas distributors than a year earlier.

GM Daewoo, which took over the major operations of bankrupt Daewoo Motor Co. last year, acquired only nine of Daewoo Motor's more than 30 marketing subsidiaries.

Its exports dropped 26.4% on year to 16,584 units in January.

However, its local sales rose 5.4% on year to 12,512 units on robust demand for its new model Lacetti, which was released in November.

GM Daewoo was launched in October, and the year-ago comparable figures are Daewoo Motor's sales, GM Daewoo said.

On month, the January sales were 12% lower, with both local sales and exports falling. GM Daewoo's January local sales were down 6.3% on month, and exports were down 15.8% on month.