Bloomberg reports that South Korea's auto-maker Daewoo Motor is selling more cars as the export market re-starts -
Daewoo Motor, which is being evaluated by General Motors for a possible takeover, said sales rose 18.2 percent in February because it exported more small and medium-sized passenger cars.
Daewoo, once Korea's second-largest automaker, sold 36,009 cars last month compared with 30,459 units it sold in the same month a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Domestic sales fell 4.9 percent from a year earlier to 12,211 units, while overseas sales rose 35.1 percent to 23,798.
Korea's auto industry is forecast to fare better than last year because an economic recovery at home and abroad is expected to spur demand, the Commerce Ministry said. Auto production is forecast to increase 3.7 percent to 3.15 million cars, reversing last year's 2.4 percent decline from 2000, according to government estimates.
The country's auto industry accounts for about 9 percent of the nation's production and of total Korean exports. The government expects exports to rebound later in the year, helping the economy grow about 4 percent this year. Last year, the economy expanded an estimated 3 percent.
Published March 05, 2002 12:37 PM in South Korea
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