The Chevrolet Spark is a city car produced by GM Korea, originally marketed prominently as the Daewoo Matiz. It has been available solely as a five-door hatchback.
The first generation of Daewoo Matiz was launched in 1998 by General Motors' South Korean division GM Korea, previously known as Daewoo Motors, replacing the Daewoo Tico. After the General Motors company took control over Daewoo Motors in 2002, it has increasingly been marketed under the Chevrolet badge. The second generation model was introduced in 2005, with the third generation launched in 2010.
An all-electric version, the Chevrolet Spark EV, was released in the U.S. in selected markets in California and Oregon in June 2013. The Spark EV was the first all-electric passenger car marketed by General Motors since the EV1 was discontinued in 1999.
The production of Daewoo Matiz started in 1998 and it was sold in South Korea and many European markets with the code name M100. The exterior design is based on the Lucciola, a 1993 Fiat Cinquecento concept by Italdesign Giugiaro which had been rejected by Fiat. The 0.8-litre gasoline engine and the transmission were carryovers from the Daewoo Tico, but it was now using a multipoint injection fuel system. Engineering was carried out at Daewoo's Worthing Technical Centre in England. The car became the best selling Daewoo model in Europe and in India for the next four years.
It was developed on the basis of the Daewoo Tico, version under license of the Suzuki Alto, with which both Tico and Matiz share mechanics and suspensions. From this origin derives its characteristic narrow width, imposed by the Japanese "Kei car" tax category, which exempts from the need to certificate that an adequate parking is available for the vehicle.
The Matiz was originally launched with just a 0.8-litre straight-three engine. It developed a maximum power of 51 hp (38 kW), a maximum torque of 68.5 N⋅m (51 lb⋅ft) and had a combined consumption of 6.4 l/100 km (44 mpg‑imp). It had a top speed of 144 km/h (89 mph) and could reach from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 17 seconds. This engine was developed from the Tico unit by Tickford, a UK company based in Milton Keynes. The Tickford connection was acknowledged in the brochures distributed in UK showrooms.
It was released mainly with three trim levels: E, S and SE. The latter had air conditioning, wheel covers, body-colored bumpers, rear spoiler, fog lights and a stereo, with optional features such as roof rails, power steering, central locking, electric front windows, ABS and driver airbag. In certain markets it was also available with an automatic transmission.
This facelift was designed at Daewoo's Worthing Technical Centre in England and introduced in South Korea in late 2000, and exported from 2001. The front-end structure was modified to accommodate a four-cylinder engine, although the introduction of this engine, the 1.0-litre S-Tec unit, was delayed until after Daewoo's takeover by General Motors in 2002.
M150 is still produced by GM-Uzbekistan (previously UzDaewooAuto) in Uzbekistan. The car was launched to the Russian market as the Ravon Matiz in 2016 but discontinued soon. In South Korea and Japan this updated Matiz was sold under the name Daewoo Matiz II.
In China the car was sold as the Chevrolet Lechi. It remained in production until 2012, when an updated version was introduced as the Baojun Lechi. It is to be offered under both Chevrolet and Baojun brands during a transition period. The Lechi has also received certain powertrain updates, making the car economical enough to qualify for a subsidy and a tax break from the Chinese government.
Euro NCAP test results for a RHD, 5-door hatchback variant on a 2000 registration:
It featured a range of two petrol engines, which had the following specifications:
The Chery QQ3, then known as the Chery QQ, became the center of an industrial copyright and intellectual rights controversy, as General Motors claimed the car was a copy of the Daewoo Matiz. GM executives demonstrated the extent of the design duplication, noting for example that the doors of the QQ and those of the Spark are interchangeable without modification.
GM China Group indicated the two vehicles "shared remarkably identical body structure, exterior design, interior design and key components" MotorAuthority.com and Car and Driver called the QQ a "carbon copy", while the International Herald Tribune, in a 2005 article, referred to it as a clone.
The Detroit News reported that "the dispute reflects the confusion, risks and ambitions in China's new auto industry, where global carmakers are battling pugnacious upstarts for a piece of what may become the world's largest auto market."
In 2005 the Matiz received substantial modifications (M200), previewed by the Chevrolet M3X concept car shown at 2004 Paris Motor Show. The upper body was significantly revised based again on a design from Italdesign Giugiaro, the S-Tec engines were updated and the car's drag coefficient was lowered, resulting in better fuel economy. The interior was also significantly revised, one notable feature of this car being its centre-mounted instrument cluster. The platform was also revised, with a twist-beam rear suspension system replacing the previous 3-link beam axle, and the front suspension making use of cast, rather than pressed and fabricated, lower control arms.
In 2008, the 800cc engine was revised to fall below the 120g/km level, thus qualifying for the UK's £35 road tax band and no London congestion charge.
In Europe it was sold under the names Chevrolet Matiz and Chevrolet Spark. In Italy there was an LPG version called Chevrolet Matiz Eco Logic. The Matiz Eco Logic was built from 2007 to 2010 in over 60,000 vehicles by BRC Gas Equipment in Cherasco, Cuneo (Italy).
In South Korea, where it was sold only with an 800 cc engine and following the introduction of M300 Matiz (Matiz Creative), the M200 Matiz was renamed to Matiz Classic.
It was sold in over 2.3 million units worldwide during the first 10 years of production.
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