2013 Daewoo Matiz Creative

Formerly

• National Motors (1937–1962)

• Saenara Motors (1962–1966)

• Shinjin Motors (1966–1972)

• GM Korea (1972–1976)[n 1]

• Saehan Motors (1976–1982)

• Daewoo Motor (1982–2002)

Company type

Private (1935–1965)

Subsidiary (1978–1999)

Industry

Automotive

Founded

1937

Defunct

2008; 18 years ago[2]

Fate

Bankrupt, acquired by General Motors in 2002, restarted as GM Daewoo

Successor

• Daewoo Commercial Vehicle

• GM Korea

Headquarters

Bupyeong, South Korea

Products

Automobiles

Parent

• Shinjin (1965–1976)

• Daewoo (1982–2002)

Subsidiaries

SsangYong (1998–2000)

Daewoo Motors (/ˈdeɪwuː/ DAY-woo) was a South Korean automotive company established in 1937 as "National Motors". The company changed its name several times until 1982 when it became "Daewoo Motors" following its acquisition by the Daewoo Group. After running into financial difficulties,[3] it sold most of its assets in 2002 to General Motors at $1.2 billion, becoming a subsidiary of the American company. In 2011, the name "Daewoo" was withdrawn with the company being renamed GM Korea and the Daewoo brand replaced by the Chevrolet marque.[2][4]

History

See also: Saehan Motors and Shinjin Motors

The company was established as "National Motor" in 1937 in Bupyeong-gu, Incheon, Japanese Korea. The name was changed to "Saenara Motor" in November 1962. Saenara was assembling and selling the Datsun Bluebird PL310.[5] The first automobile company in South Korea, Saenara was equipped with modern assembly facilities, and was established after the Automobile Industry Promotion Policy was announced by the South Korean government in 1962.[6] Saenara Motor was then bought by Shinjin Industrial in 1965, which changed its name to Shinjin Motors after establishing collaborations with Toyota.