GM is considering setting up a joint venture in Poland with its Ukrainian assembly partner, UkrAvto, according to Reuters.
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The venture would produce Chevrolet cars for central and east European markets, and was anticipated by a just-auto article at the beginning of April.
UkrAvto’s manufacturing unit AvtoZaz, owns the former FSO plant near Warsaw. It acquired the plant late last year, and at present still builds a number of former Daewoo designs including the Lanos and Matiz models – a legacy of the plant’s ownership by Daewoo. When GM bought Daewoo it did not include most of the global plants that Daewoo had either acquired or bought. However, the existing assembly licence expires this year and AvtoZaz needs a new vehicle to produce.
AvtoZaz already assembles GM cars in the Ukraine, from CKD kits. These are built alongside its own Tavria hatchback model, which itself is a modified version of the Daewoo license.
According to a GM source quoted by Reuters, discussions to set up a joint venture in Poland are progressing well.
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By GlobalDataThe two companies are obvious partners, but as the just-auto article pointed out earlier in the year, GM has to tread carefully, as UkrAvto has its own ambitions for AvtoZAZ, which include developing its own brand.
Automotive News Europe reported that the joint venture would produce the Chevrolet Aveo at a rate of around 25,000 units a year.
A GM spokesperson cited by Reuters was quick to point out that the new venture would not replace existing production in western Europe. GM Europe is currently facing a wave of industrial action over plans to close its assembly plant in Portugal. Klaus Franz, head of GM Europe’s works council ,is quoted by Automotive News as saying that building Aveos in Poland could lead to building Corsas in the future.
