Daewoo is dead

Daewoo badges will disappear as General Motors looks to get rid of the baggage associated with the name.

… and the company itself is renamed and rebranded as GM Korea.

Daewoo badges will disappear as General Motors looks to get rid of name-related baggage, both at home in Korea and elsewhere, including Australia.

Daewoo has always been known as a cheap brand, and - just as the Lucky Goldstar electronics empire was reinvented as LG with its "Life's Good" line of kickers - it's now looking to make a major shift.

GM believes it will get a showroom bonus in Korea when it puts the Chevrolet badge on its vehicles, starting with the Australian-designed Camaro coupe. The company is also confident that the new name will work better for export partners, including GM Holden.

The company has struggled to convince Australians in favor of Daewoo since its inception, and is also expecting significant quality and sales improvements starting with the facelifted Captiva SUV hitting local showrooms next month.

GM says the Korean changes are part of a plan to position Chevrolet as a key global brand.

The strategy is already working in Europe, where low-cost car recognition works better with Chevrolet than with Daewoo badges.

In Korea, GM plans to use its global Chevrolet names, including Spark and Aveo.

“We have been carefully studying the brand issue for a long time and have come to the conclusion that launching a new brand strategy and making Chevrolet our main brand is beneficial for all stakeholders, including especially Korean consumers,” said GM Daewoo spokesman Park Haeho. .

GM Daewoo already produces one in four Chevrolet vehicles sold worldwide, and Korea is GM's hub for small car development and design.