Daewoo is dead

... and the company itself is re-named and re-branded as GM Korea.

The Daewoo signs will come down as General Motors looks to jettison the baggage tied to the name, both at home in Korea and in other countries including Australia.

Daewoo was always known as a cheapie brand and - just as the Lucky Goldstar electronics empire was reinvented as LG with its 'Life's Good' kicker line - it is now looking to make a major shift.

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GM believes it will get a showroom bonus in Korea when it puts the Chevrolet badge onto its cars, starting with the Australian designed Camaro coupe. It is also confident that the new name will work better for export partners, including GM Holden.

It has struggled from the start to convince Australians on Daewoo, and is also looking for a significant upward swing in quality and sales starting with the facelifted Captiva SUV that hits local showrooms next month.

The strategy is already working in Europe, where acceptance of value cars is working better with Chevrolet instead of Daewoo badges.

In Korea, GM plans to use its global Chevrolet names including Spark and Aveo.

"We have studied the brand issue in depth for a long time and have come to the conclusion that launching a new brand strategy and making Chevrolet our primary brand is good for all stakeholders, including especially Korean consumers," says GM Daewoo spokesman, Park Haeho.

GM Daewoo already builds one of every four Chevrolet-branded vehicles sold globally and Korea is GM's center for small-car development and design.