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The Hunt Is On For Daewoo Parts

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The rise and fall of Daewoo is an age old story that will forever go down in the history books for the automobile industry and Korean car manufacturers alike. The company was founded in 1967 and declared bankruptcy, with debts surpassing 50 billion US dollars in 1999. 

 

This drastic downfall was the result of the Asain financial crises that arose in 1997. Before the crisis, Daewoo was the second largest automobile conglomerate, behind the Hyundai Group. Daewoo was responsible for almost 20 divisions below them, with some of them surviving as independent brands since filing for bankruptcy.

The Rise Of a Multibillion Dollar Empire

Daewoo was founded by Kim Woo-choong, a entrepreneur who finished his studies with an economics degree at a university in Seoul. After the company was established, five years down the line, the government stepped in to provide sponsored cheap loans on the basis of export goals and potential profits. At first, the company's focus was on the textile industry because it provided large profit margins due to the inexpensive labour force that Korea offered. 

 

In the decade to follow, the demand for South Korea's labour force intensified and there was a shift into higher skilled labour to ensure they kept their competitive advantage, placing emphasis on mechanical engineering, ship building, military offerings and construction. Kim, the founder of Daewoo, was hesitant to enter into such markets but began to build a reputation for producing high quality and reliable ships and oil rigs. 

 

During the next decade, the Korean government made fundamental changes to their approach and became more lenient with their import duties, taxes and overall regulations surrounding business. This shift allowed Daewoo to expand into the US and European markets with several joint ventures but ultimately began to receive praise for their competitively priced and high build quality helicopters and airplanes. At the same time, they began to open the door into the automotive industry and quickly became the sixth largest automobile manufacturer in the entire world.

The Fall Of Such An Empire

The rapid fall of the company came as a result of the Asain financial crisis of 1997. In 1998, the company came into deep financial trouble, with major blame placed on the crisis but also, due to poor financial decisions by the company. With the government in a deficit themselves, the ability for Daeweoo to reach out for credit was null and void and left them helpless. 

 

After filing for bankruptcy, Kim fled to Vietnam leaving all of his employees stranded. Many of them placed “Wanted” posters up around the city, searching for the man that completely disregarded them. It is a truly sad end to a phenomenal entrepreneurial journey that could have ended so differently if smarter decisions were made and public turmoil was avoided. 

 

What Does This Mean For Current Daewoo Owners?

With the discontinuation of their vehicles, what does that mean for current owners? Is it difficult to find replacement Daewoo parts? Is it smart to purchase a pre-owned Daewoo vehicle?

 

If you are the proud owner of one of their vehicles, you are happy to know that with certain models, you will be able to source mechanical parts from older Opel models, but when it comes to body parts, lights or interior parts or switches, it may be harder to source. 

 

You are lucky in the fact that a lot of spare and parts companies do however have a lot of stock available from stripping damaged vehicles and salvaging the perfect OEM Daewoo parts off of the vehicle. 

 

So if you are requiring replacement parts for your Daewoo, I would call local shops that offer the brand and I’m sure they will be able to assist with any replacement. If they do not stock it, ask questions regarding other brands and weather they can assist in sourcing possible alternatives.