Posted on: Monday, June 18, 2001

GM debates Daewoo car sales in U.S.

Bloomberg News Service

DETROIT — General Motors Corp. may decide not to sell Daewoo Motor Co. automobiles in the United States if the largest automaker buys the bankrupt Korean company.

General Motors Chief Executive Richard Wagoner said a decision about whether to market Daewoo vehicles in America was under negotiation and no decisions had been made.

"It's a sensitive issue," said Wagoner.

General Motors is in talks with Daewoo's creditors to buy some or all of the assets of Korea's second-biggest carmaker.

The U.S. automaker sees Daewoo as a means of gaining a manufacturing base in Asia's second-largest car market, with some products appropriate for export elsewhere in Asia.

Wagoner's comments came as Daewoo Chairman Lee Jong Dae was set to arrive in the United States to meet Daewoo dealers.