The last major global automotive manufacturer not to be represented in Ireland, the South Korean company, Daewoo, will be marketing its cars here from January after a franchise was awarded to an Irish investor.
Mr Gerard O'Toole, chairman of Nissan Ireland, said he had one other foreign backer for his plan to achieve a 1.5 per cent market share next year, or 2,000 units, achieving a turnover of over £20 million. The target "by year five" is 5 per cent of the market.
He said the Daewoo Ireland operation would be separate from Nissan and would involve a series of independently-owned dealerships, marketing that brand only in high volume areas around the country.
"By coming in as the last of the players, we obviously have to start a dealership business. Our intention is to drive towards solus franchise dealerships," he said. Between now and January, a national dealer network will be established. An industry source said an initial investment of about £5 million would be required to launch the new brand. The marketing plan is seen within the industry as a bold strategy aimed at rapid market penetration. Lesser known brands, such as Seat, Skoda and Citroen, are usually sold by dealers in multi-franchise arrangements. The full range of Lanos, Nubira and Leganza models, along with the Matiz mini-vehicle, to be launched in August, will be sold in Ireland.
Mr O'Toole said the models were price competitive and built to a high specification. "They have brought to the market, which is unheard of in car manufacturing, brand new cars launched only this year, and all at the same time," he said. The Daewoo range follows the introduction of the other major Korean car manufacturer, Hyundai.
The Daewoo group was ranked by Fortune magazine as the 24th largest company in the world in 1997. Its businesses include shipbuilding, electronics, telecommunications and construction. Daewoo established itself in Britain over the past three years, evolving a success strategy of establishing direct selling centres and "no haggle" prices. Its British market share stands at 1.22 per cent, but UK registrations increased by 51 per cent during the first half of 1998.
