Daewoo Motors Postpones Bookings For Matiz

Daewoo Motors India has decided to postpone its bookings for the Matiz, officially slated for October 18, to a later date after the Diwali holidays. The Korean company has yet to announce the price of the Matiz, slated to be announced before the bookings.

The company's official spokesmen said that the postponement was primarily because the company had overlooked the fact that there was a five-day holiday in the factory from Saturday.

The spokesmen also said that the top management is in Korea for a strategic session which could include making India an export base for the company.

Industry analysts, however, say the delay is primarily due to a major debate amongst the top management on what should be the price of the car, with rivals Hyundai announcing a price less than Rs 3 lakh for the Santro.

The company's managing director S G Awasthi, who has recently returned from Korea, made it clear that they would not sell the car below cost and that despite being an 800 cc car it would be pegged in the category of the Zen and the Santro and not the Maruti 800.

Awasthi had announced a few days ago that bookings would begin from October 18 and would continue only till it notched up 5,000 customers. Company executives have said that it would be able to produce 1,000 cars by October-end despite Diwali holidays.

Daewoo has decided to deliver the Matiz within five weeks from the booking day and customers would have to make full payment upon booking, with Daewoo not liable to pay any interest on the booking amount.

The Korean chaebol has targeted to sell 12,000 cars in India by the end of this fiscal year (March 31, 1999).

Thereafter, it has set a target of 40,000 cars for the fiscal year 1998-99 and finally 60,000 cars per annum from the turn of this century.