GM Uzbekistan car output up 13.5% year-on-year in 2008

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- GM Uzbekistan, a joint venture of US automaker General Motors (GM) and Uzbek automaker Uzavtoprom, increased its car output 13.5% on the year to 195,038 units in 2008, the state statistics committee said on Monday.

Of the total, GM Uzbekistan produced 95,027 Nexia cars, up 12.9% year-on-year; 70,144 Matiz compact cars, up 10.3% year-on-year; 24,510 Damas minivans, up 17.6% year-on-year; 2,061 Epica cars, up 4.8% year-on-year; 1,892 Captiva SUVs, up from 191 units in 2007; 1,389 Lacetti cars, down 19.3% year-on-year; and 15 Tacuma minivans, down from 873 units in 2007.

GM Uzbekistan was set up in 2008. GM holds 25% plus one share in the joint venture and has an option to increase its stake in the company to 40%. Uzavtoprom holds the remaining 75%.

GM Uzbekistan had planned to reach its designed annual output capacity of 200,000 cars in 2008, according to earlier reports.