Daewoo-FSO dealers feel the force of the car producer's woes

The falling trend of sales of domestic Daewoo branded cars has also had a hard effect on its dealer network. In 1999, a record high year, 187 dealers sold over 179,000 cars, as compared to 1,866 cars sold by a group counting only 61 dealers this year. One of the most popular ways Daewoo dealers have adapt to the slump is to work with other producers to sell different models under one roof. Such a decision was made by Katowice-based Gala Car which decided to simultaneously sell Suzuki automobiles. The Żerań-based manufacturer has realized that the only way to maintain a strong number of dealers is to grant them this option. The alternative is that dealers will simply walk away from cooperating with Daewoo. "In 2004 we signed a contract with Hyundai. Daewoo cars sold too poorly to make a profit," said a former Daewoo-FSO dealer. (Puls Biznesu, p. 8) A.K.