Daewoo LeMans History
Daewoo's first nameplate — an Opel Kadett E built under licence, sold in North America as the Pontiac LeMans.
Photo: “20101003 daewoo lemans 1” by Chu / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Cropped to 16:9.
History
Introduced in South Korea in July 1986, the Daewoo LeMans was a rebadged Opel Kadett E built under a General Motors licence — part of Daewoo's early strategy of producing GM designs domestically rather than developing original cars.
In North America it was rebadged as the Pontiac LeMans and sold from 1988 through 1993; poor quality tarnished sales and no replacement was offered. In Korea, the LeMans continued until 1994, when a mildly restyled descendant — the Cielo/Nexia — succeeded it.
Generations
First generation · LeMans (Opel Kadett E-based)
Photo: “20101003 daewoo lemans 1” by Chu / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Cropped to 16:9.
Rebadged Opel Kadett E; underpinned all early Daewoo compact cars and the subsequent Espero.
1994 Photo: “20100825 daewoo new lemans 01” by Chu / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Cropped to 16:9.
Body styles
- Hatchback
- Sedan
Related models
Collect the nameplate
Find a scale model of the Daewoo LeMans
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