Uzbek JV producing new Chevrolet model
By Aynur Jafarova
GM Uzbekistan Joint Venture (former UzDaewooAuto) started producing a new Chevrolet car model, Trend news agency reported on November 25 citing Uzavtosanoat.
The new Chevrolet Gentra car is a modernized model of Chevrolet's Lacetti car, which has been in production at the plant since 2008.
In the Gentra, Chevrolet increased the volume of the four-cylinder engine (up to 1.5 liters) compared to 1.05 liters earlier and 105 hp capacity of the Lacetti.
The exterior and interior car design was changed as well. The new model will be sold as Daewoo Gentra in an export variant.
Initially, it is planned to produce around 20,000 new cars per year and Gentra will completely replace Chevrolet Lacetti in the future.
The cost of producing this modernized model is $ 23.4 million. It was financed at GM Uzbekistan's own expense.
GM Uzbekistan JV was established on the basis of an agreement signed in 2007 between Uzavtoprom and General Motors and produces eight models of cars. Two of them- Chevrolet Captiva and Malibu models are produced with the technology of semi knocked down assembly. The remained models are produced in full-scale.
In 2012, GM Uzbekistan JV increased its car production by 6.4 percent compared to 2011 - up to 235,518 units.