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(2nd LD) GM Daewoo eyes profit in 2010, needs no financial help: CEO
SEOUL, March 10 (Yonhap) -- GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co., the local unit of General Motors Co., said Wednesday it aims to jump back to profit this year and does not need financial aid from South Korea's state-run creditor bank.
GM Daewoo Chief Executive Officer Mike Arcamone said the company plans to export 1.6 million vehicles, including kits, this year, compared with about 1.41 million units last year.
"In 2010, GM Daewoo will be profitable. That's my target," Arcamone told reporters in Seoul.
When asked about talks with the state-run Korea Development Bank to seek fresh loans, Arcamone said, "Our liquidity position is strong, we don't need any support."
To increase domestic sales, Arcamone said the company will sever ties with Daewoo Motor Sales Corp., a local seller of GM Daewoo vehicles, and introduce a multiple retailer system.
The chief executive described his decision to cut ties with Daewoo Motor Sales as the "most effective way" to boost sales in South Korea.
Shares of Daewoo Motor Sales plunged by the daily limit of 15 percent after the decision was announced.
Hit by the U.S. parent's financial woes and the global economic slump, GM Daewoo reported a net loss of 876 billion won (US$772.6 million) in 2008 and is likely to post a loss for last year.
Last year, GM Daewoo's sales of finished cars fell 34.4 percent from a year ago to 578,758 units.
Since early last year, GM Daewoo had been in talks with the Korean creditor bank to receive fresh loans worth 1 trillion won (US$883 million) after using up a $2 billion credit line.
GM Daewoo, which was acquired by GM in 2002, sells about 90 percent of its vehicles overseas, mainly under the Chevrolet brand.
As for market talks that GM Daewoo may change its brand name in South Korea to Chevrolet, Arcamone said the company will make an official announcement by mid-May.
A decision to badge GM Daewoo vehicles as Chevrolet in South Korea may help increase sales here, but the company's labor union has expressed worries that the local subsidiary would become a mere subcontractor for GM if "Daewoo" is eliminated.
(END)
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