General Motors gears up for Asian car market

General Motors gears up for Asian car market

WASHINGTON (AFP): General Motors Corp. has set a goal to win
10 percent of the Asian auto market by 2005 to gain a stake in
what GM chairman John Smith said could soon be the world's
biggest automobile market.

Smith unveiled the strategy at the Detroit Auto Show this
week, saying the top automaker was aiming to more than double its
current 4.6 percent market share in Asia.

"There is unanimous agreement that over the next 10 years
growth in our industry will be concentrated in East Asia," Smith
said.

"We expect Asia to account for more than 30 percent of the
world's market by year 2005 -- making this market larger than
both the North American and European market."

GM spokesman Mike Meyerand said the company was already making
strides toward boosting its presence in Asia, having concluded
agreements to manufacture trucks in Indonesia and automobiles in
China. GM is also boosting its production of right-hand-drive
vehicles for export to several Asian countries.

Passenger car

"We're number one in the US, and either number one or number
two in Europe and Latin America. But in Asia, we're way back,"
said Meyerand.

"We're doing a lot in Asia to get to the 10 percent mark."

A major coup for GM was its agreement with China to be a
partner in the Shangai Automotive Industry Corporation to built a
mid-sized passenger car. GM edged out Ford in that competition.

GM, which has a joint production facility with Toyota in the
United States, is also selling some 20,000 U.S-made Cavaliers in
Asia annually under the Toyota nameplate. GM also plans to export
right-hand-drive Saturns to Asia, Meyerand said.

"While we are working to strengthen our positions in North
America and Europe, we are also intending being a significant
competitor in all the open markets of the world," Smith said at
the auto show.

"Ten years ago, about 20 percent of GM vehicle sales were
outside North America. Today it is over 33 percent."

Smith said he expected efficiencies from sharing of designs
across GM divisions around the world. Thus cars produced by GM's
Opel unit in Europe are being sold in Asia and one Opel-developed
platform is used for a new U.S Cadillac luxury vehicle.

"We are developing global vehicle platforms and component sets
which we can adapt to fill the gaps and eliminate the overlaps
and duplications in our global product lineup," Smith said.