GM Daewoo halts production line at main S. Korean plant

SEOUL, Dec. 1 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean unit of troubled U.S. auto giant
General Motors Corp. suspended one of two production lines at its main plant for
more than a month amid slumping sales, company officials said Monday.

GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co. plans to keep the No. 2 plant in the city of
Bupyeong, near Seoul, idle until Jan. 4, the company said. The No. 2 plant
produces Tosca sedans and Winstorm sport-utility vehicles.
The move is the first time that GM Daewoo suspended production since it's
creation in 2002, when GM and its partners acquired Daewoo Motor Co., the
automobile subsidiary of Daewoo Group, which collapsed under huge debts in the
wake of the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
The No. 1 plant in Bupyeong and other remaining plants in South Korea will be
closed for two weeks starting Dec. 22, GM Daewoo said.
An official at GM Daewoo said the company would extend the suspension by the end
of March next year if "sales aren't improved."
In the first 10 months of this year, GM Daewoo's vehicle sales fell 0.4 percent
from a year earlier to 779,112 units.
GM Daewoo is South Korea's third-largest automaker after Hyundai Motor Co. and
its affiliate Kia Motors Corp.
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