GM's Spark gets 5,000 pre-sale orders in S. Korea

SEOUL, Aug. 26 (Yonhap) -- GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co., the local unit of General Motors Corp., said Wednesday it has received about 5,000 pre-sale orders for the new Chevrolet Spark less than a week before hitting local showrooms.

The new Spark, which will go on sale here next month, highlights GM's efforts to
focus on small cars as the U.S. auto giant is escaping bankruptcy protection
after painful restructuring.
Equipped with a 1.0 liter gasoline engine and a four-speed automatic
transmission, the Spark gets 17km to one liter of gas, GM Daewoo said.
The release in South Korea, where it will be sold with the name Matiz Creative,
is GM's first step to sell the car in some 150 countries. GM Daewoo officials
said the new model will hit U.S. showrooms in 2011.
"In developing the global mini-car, we considered every possible road condition
in the world and tested the vehicle accordingly," Jack Keaton, a senior executive
in charge of GM's global minicar program, said in a statement.
Keaton said the Spark will provide "driving characteristics and ride and handling
that are second to none in its segment at home and abroad."
In South Korea, the price of the new model varies from 9.06 million won
(US$7,265) to 10.89 million won, depending on accessories, according to GM
Daewoo.
GM Daewoo, which exports more than 80 percent of its cars under the GM brand, has
been hit hard by its U.S. parent's troubles.
In the first seven months of this year, GM Daewoo sales plunged 47.4 percent to
306,073 units, excluding kits.
Currently, GM Daewoo is struggling with its own liquidity crunch, which the
company says is "critical," and has been in talks with South Korea's state-run
Korea Development Bank for 1 trillion won in emergency loans.
The talks have reportedly faltered on GM's refusal to offer part of its GM Daewoo
stake as collateral, as requested by the South Korean bank.
GM acquired GM Daewoo in 2002 from the then bankrupt Daewoo Motor Co.
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