[redrage]

Awesome Sid, thanks to you for taking 12 years back on what was set to be one of the grand daddy of slug fests between two Korean giants all set to take the B,C segments by storm. Lucky for Hyundai this happened to Daweoo if not they certainly wouldn't have enjoyed their good slice of the pie here. The Nexia was a good car for its time, MPFI, DOHC 92 hp. Did give the esteems, astras, escorts a good run for their money.
Alas this had to happen.

[ricky_1605]

What a loss!. I didn't know this kind of facility will be left to get ruined. Awesome writeup. On the other hand, Is it possible to get a brand new engine or engine parts from this factory? A friend has a 2000 Daewoo Matiz SD and his engine needs an overhaul.

[sv_m_samy]

Brings my old memories. I was a proud owner of 2000 Daewoo lanos 3 door automatic. When the daewoo company went bankrupt getting spares became hard. I had to wait for 4 months to get a new muffler. Finally traded in 120K lanos for a Mazda 3 in 2006. Lanos served me good with Poor mileage, pathetic handling but no mechanical issues.

[cogentr]

Originally Posted by ricky_1605

WIs it possible to get a brand new engine or engine parts from this factory?

Yeah seriously, are there any avenues to get to the idle lying spares. It is indeed painful to see so much being wasted
I am certain there are plenty of folks all over the country who might have given up on their Daewoos only due to lack of spares. Any names or contacts?

[sridhar24]

Very good post with great pictures. Sad to see that such a plant is lying waste and its a shame GM hasn't put it to use. Really surprised to such a state of the plant.

[rajeev k]

Fantastic stuff has been dished out Sid. Hats off to you.
Brought back memories of yore.
Especially the ad about holding hands while driving; that of Cielo AT, the first in India on commercial basis.
Mr Subbu, are you watching.

One more aspect is spares are abundantly available and is a solace to many if offered.

[agspins]

Amazing Sid...sorry pictures of impressive plant. Argentum will turn it into a junkyard thanks to Subbu and his fighting partners. Shame to see such a waste of brilliant machinery.
BTW it could be the best plant to churn out India's National Engine (Multijet, DDIS, Quadrajet......). Even as posted earlier Peugeot or Mitsubishi would have shell out less moolah to get going in India.

Any more pics of half assembled Cielos/Matiz, i remeber them seeing in a magazine, some years back.

[sidindica]

Thanks for the appreciation and the 5 star ratings! A friend of mine equally deserves credit (he isnt a member here.)



Image source: Forbes India Magazine - Don’t Cry For Me Argentum

[autocrat]

Originally Posted by Warwithwheels

Any info that you can share on why the stocks have not yet been liquidated?

I have run into plenty Matiz owners who are still happy with the car, but cry about spare parts availability.

Why don't they publish the available inventory and sell it so the spares hungry owners may get some relief?

(does not apply to engine block though)

[Rovergen]

Around 2008 Argentum had a Design and Engineering center in Pune's Kalyan nagar ,A great set up with in a posh locale , the closure of that center in late 2009 was the first indication that things are not all well .
The founders Ideas are good , In europe you see lot of contractual production of cars on the same line but different marks ( renault and citroen is one example) .
Thanks to the invicible hand of god in the form of real estate , they can come out of the mess any time .
The stock clearance would be the last thing in the minds of owners ,It is too small a revenue , all the excess inventory would go to scrap .

[dkaile]

Thanks for a great thread Sid. I had owned a brand new Matiz and a sparingly used Cielo in the heydays of Daewoo Glory. Sad to see a beloved company in such a state.

The Matiz was a well built vehicle and was heavier and more stable than my new Santro that I had purchased at the same time. I always loved it more than the Santro and it lasted more too. Only it's fuel pump used to give issues which were sorted out in later years.

With the Cielo, I tasted luxury for the first time. The powered rear radio antenna was a nice party trick at that time. It had one of the most chilling AC's of that time. It was a fine vehicle which we had to sadly let go after an accident it encountered.

Your thread brings back real fond memories...

[Leistung]

This is one of the best treads here! Hats of Sid.. you just made me emotional again. My first car was a Matiz and I loved it to bits and really hard to see them in the dust. This is easily one of the biggest facilities in India and surprised no manufacturer including GM opted to takeover. It would have made economic sense on the long run. Just wishing this factory bustles into life soon.

Daewoo may have gone bust, but they remain in our memories forever.

[dadu]

Great pictorial Sid, brought back memories when I used to cross the Daewoo Plant almost every week when it was live, to visit(work related) its ancillary unit who used to manufacture the seats for Daewoo.

Surajpur was not as Industrialy developed as I am told now, with few units here and there apart from Daewoo being a big one and Honda further ahead.

[sudev]

Never liked the Cielo but Matiz was a good car with a zing.

Had quite a few friends working there but life moves on and so did they when the plant closed down. Few dealers were aggressive enough to lift completed cars in bulk just before closure with a thought of making a killing. All they managed was loss write off.

The facility would have been a superb base for any auto manufacturer but the red tapes that governs Indian administration and justice is not bothered to realize this and make early closures.

[Warwithwheels]

Here's a chronological order of events that mark the life of Daewoo Motors in India


1983

- The Company, formerly known as DCM Toyota Ltd., was incorporated as a Public Limited Company on August 1, and obtained Certificate of Commencement of Business on October 1. The Company was jointly promoted by DCM Ltd. and Toyota Motor Corporation, Japan (TMC) vide Joint Venture (JV) Agreement dated March 15, 1982, for the purpose of assembling and progressively manufacturing in India certain models of Toyota Vehicles to be mutually agreed upon by both parties and spare parts thereof, to be distributed for sale to the consuming public.

- The company set up a plant for manufacturing Light Commercial Vehicles with an annual capacity of 15000 LCVs at its works at A-I Surajpur Industrial Area, Noida-Dadri Road, Tehsil Dadri, Distt Ghaziabad-203207 (U.P.).

- The JV agreement provided for DCM to subscribe to the extent of 33% and TOYOTA to subscribe to the extent of 26% of the paid up equity share capital of the Company.

- DCM Ltd. held 33% and TMC held 26% of the Equity Capital of the Company. The plant was equipped with latest machinery to produce LCVs matching with the stringent international Toyota standards. Plant was commissioned in 15 months and commercial production of model "DYNA" commenced in 1985.

1995

- The merged company now known as DCM-Daewoo has virtually stopped the supply of the 'Dyna LVC' to its 80 odd dealers in India even as it continues to step up export of the vehicle.

-Reported sale of 1 500 cars over a three months period since its launch in July according to the Managing Director S G Aswathy.

-DCM Daewoo changes proposed car model for Indian market again.

-Appointed 50 new dealers nationwide to begin deliveries of the 1500cc passenger car Cielo next month.

- S.G. Awasth the Korean company has changed its decision to set up the engine and transmission manufacturing facilities in China.

-The chairman of the Korean automobile giant Daewoo C.S. Lee inaugurated the 50th car showroom-cum-workshop in India with modern facilities at par with international standards.

-Becomes the first automobile joint venture to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indian government for the import of completely knocked down (CKD) units.

-Department of Company Affairs (DCA) has launched an investigation against DCM Daewoo.

-South Korean automobile giant Daewoo has decided to launch its commercial vehicles range in India through subsidiary DCM Daewoo Ltd.

-The corporate office of the automobile major DCM Daewoo Motors Ltd was raided and sealed by the sales tax authorities

1996

-More than 20 000 Ceilo cars have been sold by DCM Daewoo through their appointed dealers all over the country a large majority of which was in Delhi and neighbouring states.

-DCM Daewoo Motors Limited has tied up financing required to bankroll its US $1 billion car project.

-South Korean automobile giant Dawoo is believed to have ticked out a proposal for launching 'Ticco' in collaboration with DCM in India this year.

1997

-Maruti Udyog Ltd launched the upgraded version of the 800 cc on September 12 visitors at the ongoing 57th Frankfurt Motor Show were admiring the all-new Daewoo D'Arts.

-Eenteres into joint venture agreements with various international automotive component vendors. These are Pan Alfa-Dong Won for mufflers Fiem-Sung-San for lamps Korin India for rear axles and Spack Automotive for seats.

-The Cabinet Committee on Foreign Investment (CCFI) has allowed Daewoo Corporation of South Korea to hold 92 per cent equity stake in DCM Daewoo Motors Ltd

-Daewoo Corporation South Korea has already invested or committed to invest Rs.685.92 crore in DCM-Daewoo Motors for a 75% equity stake (at Rs.25.33 for a 51% stake and at Rs.23.50 for the other 24% acquired from DCM) and rights entitlement thereof (at Rs.15 per share).

-Fortune Cars (P) Ltd was launched as the new dealers in Navi Mumbai for Cielo the premium car from DCM Daewoo Motors.

-Cut down the production of Cielo cars by 75 per cent owing to a free-fall in their sale.

1998

-Slashed the price of its Cielos a whopping 25 per cent in one stroke

-The company has dropped two of its largest dealers Bhasin Motors in New Delhi and Bhandari Motors in Pune

-Launches the Valyou for Money print campaign for the price corrected Cielo it was so caught up by the hook that the advertising agency Equus Advertising company promptly applied for a copyright on the new Buzzword

-Launches its small car called Matiz in Seoul. the car was displayed at the fourth Auto Expo at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi in January and sales of the left-hand version in Korea will begin in April.

- Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) of Japan has decided to wash its hands off the merger two per cent stake it held in Daewoo Motors India Limited a senior company official said

-Sought a Rs.105-crore loan from the Export Import Bank of Korea (K-Exim) to fund its captive power plant in Uttar Pradesh

-Hikes the prices on all the models of Cielo with effect from July 5

- The industry ministry has approved the application of Daewoo Motors India Ltd for a technical assistance agreement paving way for the introduction of small car Matiz in September

- Korean electronics major Daewoo in association with Kinetic Communications Ltd has launched a full range of Daewoo colour monitors in the Indian market.

- Matiz the small car to be launched by the Korean company Daewoo Motors

-Joined hands with six non-banking finance companies (NBFCs)

-Mr S G Awashti managing director Daewoo Motors has been re-appointed for a five-year term.

- 796cc Matiz -- has bagged two international awards for the `best small car' at the British International Motor Show in Great Britain and the `world's most beautiful car' at the L' Automobile Pin Bella Del Mondo contest in Italy.

-Announced the closure of booking for its newly launched Matiz car after securing 3 000 orders three days before slated closure

-The Calcutta High Court has allowed an appeal by Daewoo Motors India Ltd and has vacated the order of injunction passed by the 2nd Civil Judge senior division Alipore Court restraining the sale of Matiz in the state of West Bengal

1999

- Mr. K.H. Nam has been appointed as the Chairman & Whole-time director of the Company in place of Mr. S.H. Park with effect from 30 April. 2000

-Daewoo has launched the Nexia deluxe, in the upper end of the mid-size segment.

-The Company is launching a large-scale service and test drive campaign throughout the country from June 17.

- Daewoo Motors India Ltd, a subsidiary of South Korea's Daewoo Motor Corp, is "working out the cost structure" of its popular small car Matiz in view of the continuing depreciation of the rupee against the dollar.

- Enthused by the growing demand for its small car `Matiz', Daewoo Motors India Ltd is working towards expanding its dealership network by 23.9 per cent while the number of authorised service centres are being increased 111 per cent by September-end.d - Daewoo Motors India Ltd is launched "S.P.I.C.E." into lives of Matiz buyers. Daewoo introduced two new variants of Matiz - SG and SA -- which have replaced the existing Matiz SE and SP models.

- The Company will expand its dealer and authorised service centre network in the country in an aggressive bid to doble volumes of its car sales.

- Mr. S. G. Awasthi resigned as chairman of the company.

- The Company has suspended production of passenger cars at its Surajpur plant.

- The Company is shutting its plant for a week from December 13, following low demand and piling up of stocks.

- Daewoo Motors India Ltd. has in collaboration with ICICI Personal Financial Services launched a new scheme for enabling car buyers to purchase the company's small car the Matiz at low interest rates.

2001

- Citing a bulging inventory of unsold cars, ailing Daewoo Motor Co. temporarily shut down some assembly lines at its main plant effectively foiling a threatened strike by workers.

- Daewoo Motors India Ltd. will introduce three new models -- two in the mid-size segment and one in the premium segment -- in India.

- Daewoo Motors India Ltd. will hive-off its engine and gearbox units into a separate company.

- Daewoo Motors India Ltd introduced its new cars - Magnus, Lanos II, and Nubira - in the southern market.

- Daewoo Motors India Ltd (DMIL) Managing Director and Chief Executive, Mr. Y.C. Kim, has put in his papers and handed over charge to Mr Young Tae Cho.

- Daewoo Motors India on june 22 said it would hike the prices of its premium small car Matiz by 2-3 per cent in north and east India from July.

- Daewoo Motors India will launch a limited edition version of its premium small car Matiz early next month.

- Daewoo Motors India Ltd, subsidiary of the ailing South Korean car maker Daewoo Motor Corp, on august 29 announced the launch of two special edition versions of its 800-cc Matiz car with more features and a price dearer by about Rs 9,000. The two special edition cars, the Matiz Special SG and Matiz Special SA will be available from September1

- DMIL said it had also signed an agreement with the workers union for a separation programme for the 237 workers affected by the closure of the plant

- Daewoo Motors India Ltd (DMIL), the subsidiary of bankrupt South Korean Daewoo Motor Co Ltd, cut production to just four days a week for September as part of its cost-cutting drive

- Troubled auto-maker Daewoo Motors has been rated the most environment-friendly car manufacturer in India by the Centre for Science & Environment. Compatriot Hyundai Motors has been ranked second in the ratings.

- Daewoo Motor India Ltd, a subsidiary of South Korean chaebol Daewoo, has asked six executives to leave the organisation.

- These include a general manager based in New Delhi, a deputy manager from the Chandigarh office of the company, an assistant manager from Chennai, an officer (sales and administration) from Mumbai, another executive from Bangalore and one secretary-level employee in New Delhi.

- Daewoo Motor India Ltd is gearing up to launch new models of the Matiz next year. The new Matiz model (not the Kalos) is expected to hit the roads in January. It will have new features, but most importantly a different exterior (higher bonnet, grill and front lights, etc), "which will be in sharp contrast to the feminine looks of the existing model.

2002

-General Motors is following an agreement it signed to buy assets from Daewoo Motor with only slight differences blocking a final pact.

-Maruti Udyog Ltd, Daewoo Motors and Hindustan Motors has entered into technical tie-up with Rohan Automotive Equipments Pvt Ltd (RAEPL) for supply and fitting of LPG dual fuel kits in cars.

-Approaches domestic car manufacturers to acquire assets of the ailing company.

- Surajpur factory has stopped its production all the employees are waiting for the directions from Korea.

2003

-DRT has appointed receiver rejected bids for the DMIL 's current assets, which made the ongoing auction of DMIL assets further delayed.

-Daewoo Motors India Ltd, have seized its Surajpur production unit through a receiver inducted by the debt recovery tribunal.

- NM Rothschild, the investment banker has been appointed to sell the assets of Daewoo Motors India.

-Mr Sahib Singh Verma, the Union Labour Minister, has intervened in the Daewoo Motors India Ltd plant case at Surajpur

Source