Daewoo Matiz

The Daewoo Matiz is a city car produced by the South Korean automaker GM Korea, marketed worldwide since 1998 when it replaced the Daewoo Tico. It is available solely as a five-door hatchback with two engine configurations. The Matiz was originally designed by Italdesign Giugiaro, and has received two facelifts. Various generations of the car have been sold under both Daewoo and various GM brands, and have been manufactured and marketed under license agreements by local automakers in several countries. The Matiz was built between 1998 and 2006 over 2.3 million units[1] in the world. The Matiz was at the center of a 2006 international intellectual property rights controversy, with the design of the M100 copied outright by Chinese manufacturer Chery in its QQ. The production of Daewoo Matiz started in 1998 and it was sold in South Korea and many European markets with the code name M100. The exterior design is based on the Lucciola, a Fiat Cinquecento concept by Italdesign Giugiaro which had been rejected by Fiat. The 0.8-litre gasoline engine and the transmission were carryovers from the Daewoo Tico. Engineering was carried out at Daewoo's Worthing Technical Centre in England. The car became the best selling Daewoo model in Europe and in India for the next four years. The Matiz was originally launched with just a 0.8 L 3-cylinder engine. This engine was developed from the TICO unit by Tickford, a UK company based in Milton Keynes. The Tickford connection was acknowledged in the brochures distributed in UK showrooms.


In 2005 the Matiz received substantial modifications (M200), previewed by the Chevrolet M3X concept car shown at 2004 Paris Motor Show. The upper body was significantly revised based again on a design from Italdesign Giugiaro, the S-Tec engines were updated and the car's drag coefficient was lowered, resulting in better fuel economy. The interior was also significantly revised, one notable feature of this car being its centre-mounted instrument cluster. The platform was also revised, with a twist-beam rear suspension system replacing the previous 3-link beam axle, and the front suspension making use of cast, rather than pressed and fabricated, lower control arms. In 2008, the 800cc engine was revised to fall below the 120g/km level, thus qualifying for the UK's £35 road tax band and no London Congestion Charge. In Europe it was sold under the name Chevrolet Matiz but in Italy exist the LPG version was called Chevrolet Matiz Eco Logic. The Matiz Eco Logic was built from 2007 to 2010 in over 60,000 vehicles by BRC Gas Equipment in Cherasco, Cuneo (Italy). In South Korea, where it is sold only with a 800 cc engine and following the introduction of M300 Matiz (Matiz Creative), the M200 Matiz was renamed to Matiz Classic. Chevrolet Spark LPG: was a version for the Indian market with Sequential Injection-type LPG kit. Available models include 1.0L PS and 1.0L LS. The car was unveilled on World Environment Day in New Delhi. The 2005 Chevrolet Matiz scored three stars (with one strike through) in the EuroNCAP crash test: "The final adult occupant protection star is struck through because there was an unacceptably high risk of life-threatening injury to the chest in side impact." In contrast, the pre-2005 Daewoo Matiz was awarded 72% in the side impact Euro NCAP. In Europe, the Matiz is equipped with front seatbelt pretensioners, front seatbelt load limiters, driver and passenger frontal airbags and ISOFIX rear anchorages.



The Chevrolet Beat was unveiled at the 2007 New York International Auto Show alongside two other concept vehicles, the Trax and the Groove. The Beat is a front-drive, three-door hatchback concept, derived from the Daewoo Kalos. It was built in India, and designed by GM Daewoo in South Korea. It is powered by a 1.2 L turbocharged gasoline engine mated to an automatic transmission. The Beat concept sports a Vertigo Green exterior paint job with the same hue carried over to parts of the interior. Its profile is high at the rear and tapering down evenly to the front of the grille. Headlights that appear to extend all the way from the base of the grille to the base of the windshield are LED-type. Oversize 17 inch wheels barely hide the matching green paint of disc brakes. Twin taillights that extend upward to the back-up lights are also LED's. In early 2007, GM conducted a poll testing the relative popularity of the Beat, Trax and Groove concepts on a Chevrolet website, with the Beat receiving nearly 50% of the vote, which ultimately determined the car making it into production. This car was designed to appeal to young car buyers in urban markets, infusing the energy, diversity and excitement of urban life into a car that would deliver good-looking fun, fuel economy and value. GM presented a pre-production version of the Chevrolet Beat carrying the Chevrolet Spark nameplate at the 2009 North American International Auto Show. The production version was announced at the 2009 North American International Auto Show, but only the Beat concept was shown at the time. The production Chevrolet Spark was unveiled at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show. It is expected to be available in the first quarter of 2010 in Europe, followed by other markets worldwide, with US sales set to begin in early 2012. Commercial production of a 5-door Chevrolet Beat started from December 15, 2009, in Halol, India. It was launched in India on January 5, 2010, during Auto Expo New Delhi, India. The GM Daewoo Matiz version was unveiled in Seoul Motor Show 2009. The Holden version, named Barina Spark, was revealed at the 2010 Australian International Motor Show in Sydney in October. A photo was revealed on October 8. The Auto platform was replaced by GM Gamma platform, developed by GM Daewoo engineers.