SEOUL - GM Daewoo Auto and Technology Co. said Friday it had started shipping new mini cars to Europe as the South Korean unit of US auto giant General Motors Co. seeks to expand global sales.

GM Daewoo, acting as General Motors' global mini car development centre, said it will ship the "Matiz Creative", the fourth generation of GM Daewoo's popular "Matiz" mini car series, under the name "Chevrolet Spark".

The South Korean unit will export 20,000 units to Europe by the end of the year and begin selling the car early next year. It did not say what the vehicles would priced at.

In the first 10 months of this year, GM Daewoo's total vehicle sales including exports and domestic sales plunged 41.2 percent from a year ago to 457,955 units as demand dried up due to the global financial crisis.