GM India plans to showcase ’electric car’ next year

PTI

Jaipur, 24 October 2010: General Motors India is strengthening its base in the country and will showcase an "electric car" next year, its President and Managing Director, Karl Slym announced Saturday. It would be an environment-friendly small car, and would be showcased to get experts and market opinion, Slym told in a press conference here. It would be a battery-operated, not solar power generated, he said.GM India is making a rapid network expansion in the wake of increasing popularity of Chevrolet in India, he said, while launching a new showroom and two workshops in Jaipur. In collaboration with China’s SAC (Shanghai auto car), GM will bring three "value package" cars, he replied to a question.

 

Cheverolet recently completed seven years of its successful journey after its foray into the Indian market, Slym said. It would soon be comissioning the power train facility in Maharashtra at Talegaon making the first flexi-engine plant for GM globally wherein both petrol and diesel engines are going to be manufactured together, he said. Recently, the company inaugurated the LNG facility at its factory premises at Halol for supply of gas to its car manufacturing plant, and has also ramped up production by adding the second shifts at Halol and Talegaon plants, he said.

 

When asked whether GM is planning any industrial investment in Rajasthan, Slym said two of its units were already producing 2,25,000 cars per annum, and this would go up to 4 lakh in next couple of years. If GM-India would have any expansion plans, Rajasthan could be considered, he added. Speaking on the occasion, Sumit Sawhney, its vice president, sales-marketing-aftersales, said GM has invested over USD one billion (more than Rs 5,000 cr) in India till date, and is deeply committed to this market.

 

GM in India has developed local suppliers and awarded contracts to them for components worth approximately USD 500 million from India, and it intends to source components worth USD one billion in the next 2 years time for its overseas operations, Sawhney said. In last six months, GM-India made a growth of 79 percent, as against industry growth in car at 36 percent, Sawhney said, adding, however the company share in car industry was 4 percent.