GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co. plans exports of 180,000 Matiz minicars worldwide this year, according to the Korea Herald’s online edition.

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“We plan to export the New Matiz to Europe in May and to Mexico in August,” GM Daewoo CEO Nick Reilly reportedly said at a news conference in Seoul as the automaker unveiled its redesigned third generation minicar.


The paper said Korea’s third-largest automaker aims to sell 50,000 Matiz cars at home this year but has not set a date for the minicar’s entry into the North American market.


Depending on the NAFTA market, GM-Daewoo-built cars are sold with Chevrolet and/or Suzuki badges.


1.4 million Matiz cars have been sold around the world since its release in 1998, the Korea Herald noted.

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Referring to recent legal wrangling with Chinese maker Chery over its QQ minicar, which GM Daewoo says is a complete copy of the Matiz, Reilly reportedly assured the press conference that his company has registered international patents related to the new model to prevent similar design piracy.


The Korean subsidiary of General Motors has sold the Matiz in China as the Chevrolet Spark since 2003, the report noted.


According to the Korea Herald, Reilly also said GM Daewoo has no plans to install diesel engines in the Matiz since it will make the car much more expensive, undermining the price competitiveness of the minicar.


Reilyy reportedly said GM Daewoo will sell the Matiz in its home market with a one-litre petrol engine (as was the case with the outgoing model in most export markets), replacing the previous model’s 800cc engine.


The report said 80 of the components in the redesigned Matiz are new and it comes with a standard manual transmission and the choice of four trim levels.


Automatic transmission is optional, the Korea Herald added.