GM Uzbekistan, formerly Uz-DaewooAuto, is a former joint venture between the Uzbek government, OJSC UzAvtosanoat and the General Motors Company of the United States for the manufacturing of automobiles, and was located in Asaka, Uzbekistan. The brand manufactured vehicles under the Ravon marque, which is Uzbek for calm and straight road or easy journey, and also manufactured Chevrolets. The joint venture was dissolved, and has been succeeded by UzAuto Motors, a government-owned automaker.
History
The company was originally founded in 1992 between the Uzbek state owned UzAvtosanoat and the South Korea-based Daewoo, and was initially known as Uz-DaewooAuto. The company began production of vehicles on 19 July 1996, at the new assembly plant located in Asaka. The company produced vehicles under the brand name Uz-Daewoo and became increasingly important in the markets of the CIS area. The initiative to establish the Uzbek automobile industry goes back to the early 1990s and the administration of State PresidentIslam Abdugʻaniyevich Karimov. Following Daewoo's collapse in 2001, and resulting change of ownership, GM Uzbekistan was eventually established in March 2008 as a new replacement joint venture, and the Nexia and Matiz were sold under the Chevrolet badge together with an extended range of GM Korea Chevrolet models produced at the Asaka factory.
2008 onwards
Daewoo was acquired by General Motors and became GM Daewoo. Subsequently, the facility was renamed GM Uzbekistan in 2008. The joint venture was owned by UzAvtosanoat JSC and General Motors Corporation. GM Uzbekistan produced 106,334 units during the first half of 2011. Given the change in name and ownership, the model range changed, although the company continued producing Uz-Daewoo branded vehicles until 2015. Some models based on these are still sold as Chevrolets. GM Uzbekistan began production on 27 November 2008. The first assembled car on this day was a Chevrolet Lacetti which also was the 1,000,000 assembled vehicle out of the production from UzAvtosanoat. The annual production of GM Uzbekistan are 250,000 units. Since c.2008, Chevrolet is manufacturing the Chevrolet Spark M300 in Asaka, a model for now intended only for export. Currently, the models are assembled as CKD and SKD kits, although the company plans to manufacture up to 50% of all needed parts in Uzbekistan in the near future. Another plant is producing 200,000 units of front- rear- and side windows for the vehicles of the Uz-DaewooAvto and the Chevrolet Lacetti. A third production facility was opened in 2014 in Pitnak, Khorezm Region, manufacturing the Damas/Labo microvans and the Chevrolet Orlando minivan. In 2010, about 5,000 employees were employed at the GM Uzbekistan assembly plant. GM Uzbekistan sold 121,584 vehicles locally in 2011, making the country the eighth-largest market for Chevrolet and produced more than 225,000 vehicles. Its products are also exported to Russia and other CIS countries. In 2012, the Chevrolet Malibu and the Chevrolet Cobalt were added to the production line, followed by the revised Gentra model in 2013, the Chevrolet Orlando in 2014, and the Chevrolet Nexia T250 in 2015. In 2019, the joint venture was dissolved, and the company, renamed UzAuto Motors, is now wholly owned by the Uzbek government. In 2020, UzAuto began importing the Chevrolet Equinox, Trailblazer, Traverse, and Tahoe SUVs, with intent to produce them locally if there is sufficient demand. UzAuto will also phase out the Ravon brand in 2020, merging it back into the Chevrolet brand as the Chevrolet Spark, Nexia, Cobalt, and Lacetti.
Following a new agreement in 2008, the joint venture GM Powertrain Uzbekistan opened an engine plant in Tashkent, from GM Uzbekistan's vehicle manufacturing facility in Asaka, in November 2011. GM owns 52% and UzAvtosanoat has a 48% stake in the Powertrain JV. The factory is GM's first engine plant in Uzbekistan. It will produce more than 225,000 Ecotec 1.2L and 1.5L engines a year for use in GM small passenger cars around the world.
