GM China Mini-car Spark Joins Fray

SHANGHAI November 7, 2003; Dow Jones reported that General Motors Corp. said today that its first mini- car for China, the Spark, will roll off the assembly line Saturday.

The U.S. automaker said pricing of the 51-horsepower Spark will be announced in early December, when it is delivered to dealers in China.

The car is at the center of a dispute about copyright protection in China. It is said to resemble another China-made vehicle, dubbed the Chery, which is built by one of GM's partners in China.

The Spark itself is based on a GM mini-car called the Matiz, produced by a South Korean unit of the U.S. company, GM Daewoo.

The Chery sells in China for around US$6,024.

The Spark is being built by SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co. in Guangxi province. The company is 50% owned by Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp., 34% by GM and about 16% by Wuling Automotive.

SAIC owns part of the company that makes the Chery.

GM officials have refrained from public comment on the Chery but a SAIC official recently told reporters the dispute would be settled soon.

The partners have announced plans to expand production capacity at the Wuling plant by 150,000 vehicles to 336,000 by 2006. It now makes a number of vehicles, including small trucks priced as low as US$3,200 each.

GM also announced this week it would begin selling the Cadillac brand in China next year, and plans to build the luxury car at its Shanghai plant. Capacity at that plant is being expanded through 2005 by 50% to 300,000 vehicles annually.