General Motors targets sale of 50,000 automobiles this year

Kochi, Mar 25 (UNI) General Motors is targeting a sales figure of 50,000 units in India this year, including 20,000 units of Chevrolet Tavera and 20,000 units of the newly-launched Aveo, Company's Vice-President, Corporate Affairs, P Balendran said today.

Addressing a press conference here on the occasion of the Aveo launch in the Kerala market, he said the automobile major, would launch two other models -- Aveo U-VA and Optra SRV -- by June-July in the largest expansion of GM India's vehicle line-up.

Describing the Aveo as a ''small car with big space'', Mr Balendran said popular film stars Rani Mukherjee and Saif Ali Khan had been chosen as the 'brand ambassadors' to endorse the vehicle.

Launched in 1.4 and 1.6 engine options, the Aveo is competitively priced at an entry level of Rs 5.5 lakh, going upto Rs eight lakh for various models, he added.

Mr Balendran said that the company is planning to increase the production capacity of its plant at Halol, Gujarat, to 85,000 units this year.

The company, which had invested about Rs 1,800 crore in the Halol plant, would be putting in another Rs 100 crore this year, he added.

Stating that it had logged a growth rate of 18 per cent in 2005, while the overall passenger car growth during the year was only five per cent, Mr Balendran said General Motors was targeting a ten per cent market share by 2010.

The company had sold more than 30,000 cars in 2005 as against over 26,000 in 2004.

While the automobile sector had been sluggish last year, the sales were expected to grow by ten to 12 per cent this year, he added.

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