One of the most active responses of the European firms has been to pursue business in Eastern Europe, in countries of the former communist bloc. Of course, the most rapid expansion has been into region that was formerly East Germany. There Volkswagen negotiated a joint production agreement with IFA Kombinat Personenkraftwagen to make Polos and Golfs (to replace the infamous two-stroke East German Trabant), Opel (part of General Motors) agreed to build a new assembly plant in Eisenach (to replace the East German Wartburg), BMW invested in machine tools and parts manufacturing, and Ford established an extensive dealer network-all by the end of 1990.
             More than a dozen major investment contracts had been signed by the automakers by the end of 1990. This set of conditions provides the background to the decision of Czechoslovakia's Skoda auto works to sell part ownership to an outside automaker, so that Skoda could survive the opening of the Czechoslovak economy in the 1990s.
             Table 1. Western Europe's Auto Market in 1990 (Jan.-Oct.)
             Company Sales in Percent Change
             ...