Defunct South Korean automobile manufacturer
The
Saehan Motor Company
was a South Korean
automobile
manufacturer founded in 1976, which was born on the collaboration of Shinjin Industrial Company and
General Motors
to introduce their products on the South Korean market. Saehan was born on the former "General Motors Korea", which encountered difficulties when the South Korean market collapsed, following the first round of oil rises in 1973.
[2]
This joint-venture, 50-50 between GM and Shinjin, consisted on a car assembly plant in Bupyong, a truck assembly plant in Pusan and a foundry at Incheon.
[3]
In November 1976,
Shinjin Motors
faced financial problems and sold its 50% stake in Saehan to the
Korea Development Bank
(KDB). In 1978, the Daewoo Group acquired the equity stake and management rights from KDB. The company was renamed
Daewoo Motor Co.
in January 1983.
[4]
History
[
edit
]
The company origins can be traced back to
National Motors
, a company established in 1937 in
Bupyeong-gu, Incheon
, South Korea. Its name was changed to "Saenara Motor" in November 1962. Saenara was assembling and selling
Datsun Bluebird P310s
.
[5]
Very first automobile company in Korea, Saenara was equipped with modern assembly facilities, and was established after the Automobile Industry Promotion Policy was announced by the South Korean government in 1962.
[6]
Saenara Motor was then bought by Shinjin Industrial in 1965, which changed its name to
Shinjin Motor
after establishing collaborations with
Toyota
. Shinjin's range included various Toyota models, such as the
Publica
,
T40 Corona
and
Crown
.
After Toyota's withdrawal from its Korea investment in 1972,
Shinjin Motors
started a joint venture with American
General Motors
under the name "General Motors Korea" (GMK). Nevertheless, soon after the alliance, GM showed disconformity with Shinjin's management and in 1976 GM asked the Korean Government (through the US Embassy in Seoul) to find another partner. As the Shinjin Group was experiencing financial problems its shares in GMK were sold to the Korea Development Bank. As a result, the company's name was changed to Saehan Motor Company Ltd".
[1]
GMK shortly sold their
Rekord
model under the GMK
marque
, together with the
Holden Torana
based
Chevrolet 1700
. When GMK was renamed to Saehan, the 1700 became
Saehan Camina
.
[7]
Saehan's range was composed of diverse GM models: the
Saehan Gemini
was based on 1974
Isuzu
's Bellett Gemini, then replaced by the
Maepsy
(known as Saehan Bird for export), which was a development of the Gemini.
[8]
It had a pickup derivate, the Saehan Max. Saehan also marketed the
Opel Rekord E
and created later, on this basis, their
Royale Series
, composed of the Royale Diesel, Royale Automatic and Royale Salon models.
Models
[
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]
Cars
[
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]
Buses
[
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]
Trucks
[
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]
Notes
[
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]
- ^
It was a joint venture established by local Shinjin Motors and General Motors, not related to the
GM Korea
established in 2002 after the Daewoo's bankruptcy.
[1]
- ^
rebadged
Holden
.
- ^
a
b
rebadged
Daewoo
.
- ^
Sold in diesel and automatic-transmission versions.
- ^
based on the
Isuzu BU
.
- ^
based on mid and double-entry doors.
- ^
rebadged
Isuzu
.
References
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