Damas and Labo,’self-employed’ feet, discontinued after 30 years

Input 2021.02.08 06:00

GM Korea has decided to end production of Damas and Labo for light commercial vehicles in the first quarter of this year. Damas and Labo, which have been produced at the Changwon plant since 1991, during the days of Daewoo Motors, have been constantly loved by self-employed people for the past 30 years, and have sold a total of 370,000 units since their launch.

It has become a model that self-employed people love thanks to the’cost performance’ that costs around 10 million won and requires low vehicle maintenance costs. It belongs to a light car with an engine displacement of less than 800cc, and is exempted from taxes such as individual consumption tax and employment registration tax, and offers discounts on highway tolls, and low maintenance costs because LPG is used for fuel. The loading space is also wider than most sports utility vehicles (SUVs). Damas can be loaded up to 450 kg and Labo up to 550 kg.

Damas, which has a large indoor space, was mainly used by florists, laundry, and delivery companies, and Labo was used in construction sites or converted into food trucks. Damas means’close friend’ in Spanish, and Labo means’working’ in Greek, and literally became a good friend for small business owners. However, as the discontinuation was announced last in the first quarter of this year, 441 units for Damas and 503 units for Labo were sold during the month of last January. Compared to the same month last year, sales surged 94.3% and 130.7%, respectively. This is the result of the last-minute demand from small business owners.

Damas and Labo were already in danger of being discontinued eight years ago. As the government’s safety and environmental standards have been strengthened, the production of airbags, headrests, tire pressure warning devices (TPMS), and exhaust gas self-diagnosis devices (OBD-2) terminals, which must be installed, are not installed. .

Small business organizations across the country, such as the Laundry Industry Association and the Deputy Driving Association, who used Damas and Labo, were strongly opposed, and GM Korea resumed production as the government delayed applying some regulations. Afterwards, GM Korea invested 20 billion won to establish a production plant exclusively for small commercial vehicles, and not only small business owners who ride Damas and Labo, but also about 100 partners have maintained their work.

But in the end, production of Damas and Labo was stopped this year. As the discontinuation of Damas and Labo is announced, interest is focused on a model that can replace the two models, but industry evaluation is that there is virtually no model that can completely replace the two models right now. An industry insider said, “In the case of Damas and Lavo, the safety is low, but there was a fixed customer base at a high cost-effectiveness price,” he said. said.

Domestically Hyundai Motor (005380)Small vans such as Starex and Renault Samsung Master are sold, but the selling price is 22 million to 32 million won for Starex and 29 to 31 million won for Master, which is more expensive than Damas. The displacement is 2497cc for Starex and 2300cc for Master, and the loading capacity is also much larger with Starex 800kg and Master 1200kg. Unlike Labo, which sells for 8 to 9 million won, Kia’s small trucks Porter and Bongo are also sold from 15 million won, so the price burden is high.

Domestic companies Daechang Motors and Dpico launched electric vans’Dango’ and’Fortro’ respectively targeting the delivery market, and Shinwon CK sells Chinese electric vans and small trucks from Dongpung Socon in China, but not only the price The short driving distance, which is 100km per charge, is also considered a disadvantage.