| 15-02-2008 The
South Korean unit of General Motors has decided to put Chinese engines in its
new models from next year. This will be the first time that a major auto component
will be imported from China in large quantities for Korean cars. The
announcement came Wednesday as GM Daewoo celebrated the start of mass production
of six-speed automatic transmissions at its new factory in Boryeong, South Chungcheong
Province. During
the ceremony, GM Daewoo Chief Executive Michael Grimaldi said the company will
import four-cylinder L850 engines from Shanghai GM, the U.S. automaker's joint
venture with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp., and put them in two or three
models to be launched next year. GM
Daewoo will import the engines from the Jin Qiao Powertrain plant of Shanghai
GM, with some 100,000 units set for 2009. Grimaldi
said that in a few years the Korean company's six-speed automatic transmissions
will be used in GM cars manufactured overseas. He predicted this sort of exchange
of auto parts would be further encouraged among GM factories around the world.
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