UzDaewoo Auto produced 70,481 Nexia cars, up 18.4% year-on-year, 52,966 Matiz subcompact cars, up 36.6% year-on-year, 17,376 Damas minivans, up 38% year-on-year, and 1,722 Lacetti cars, up from about 85 a year ago.

In October, UzDaewoo Auto also started assembly of three new models: Epica, Tacuma and Captiva. It produced 47 Epica cars, 703 Tacuma cars and 24 Captiva cars, the statistics committee said.

In 2006, UzDaewoo Auto’s car output rose by 38.7% year-on-year to 140,080. The company plans to produce 180,000 vehicles in 2007 and 200,000 in 2008, according to earlier reports.

UzDaewoo Auto was set up on a parity basis by state-owned Uzbek automaker Uzavtoprom and South Korean automaker Daewoo Motor. The plant was launched in 1996. In May 2005, Uzavtoprom bought Daewoo’s stake for undisclosed sum. In October 2005, UzDaewoo Auto extended a component supply agreement with General Motors until 2010.

In September, General Motors and Uzavtoprom set up a joint venture, GM Uzbekistan, for the assembly of the Captiva, Epica and Tacuma models. The production capacity of the plant is 50,000 cars annually and is expected to be increased in the coming three years. General Motors holds 25% in GM Uzbekistan and may increase its stake to up to 40% in the future.