DAEWOO has announced that its new small hatchback, the Lacetti, will cost from just £9,495 when it arrives here this spring.
It will undercut the cheapest Ford Focus by £1,300, and Volkswagen's Golf by about £2,500.
Available in five door form from March, it will come with a choice of two petrol engines.
The 92bhp entry-level 1.4 SE models have anti-lock brakes, twin front airbags, front electric windows, a rake-adjustable steering wheel and remote central locking.
The SX versions boast a 110bhp 1.6-litre engine, with prices from £10,495, and have air-conditioning, alloy wheels, side airbags, reach adjustment on the steering wheel and electric heated door mirrors.
Two months later, in May, a range-topping 122bhp 1.8-litre model will arrive and much-needed diesel models will follow by the end of next year.
In addition to the five-door hatchback there will be an estate car choice from September, but a three-door hatchback option is unlikely.
The Lacetti is slightly longer than the Focus and is roughly the same width and height.
The wheelbase dictates the amount of space within the car for occupants, which is coincidentally similar to that of a Focus, although the boot is by no means among the most spacious in its class, offering 275 litres with the rear seats upright, and 1045 litres with them folded.
However, in comparison with what has gone before, this latest model from Daewoo represents a quantum leap forward and heralds the first stage in what will become the most important motor industry revival in modern automotive history.