General Motors to roll out small cars soon

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 27: Automobile major General Motors will soon roll out small cars like Santro and Alto in the country, company's Vice-President (Corporate affairs) P Balendran said today (Mar 27, 2006).

Talking to mediapersons here on the occasion of launching the GM's new car 'Aveo' in the capital, he said the price of the small cars could not be disclosed due to competition in the field. However, the price would be reasonable, he added.

Mr Balendran said the demand for GM's cars in the state was quite promising when compared to Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and that was why the company launched its new model in the capital after Kochi.

Despite the company's entry into the Indian market very late, it succeeded in establishing its presence well on the roads, securing a growth rate of 18 per cent in 2005. The overall passenger car growth during the year was only five per cent, Mr Balendran said adding that General Motors was targeting a ten per cent market share by 2010.

He said the company was 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.

Mr Balendran said the company would launch two other models -- Aveo U-VA and Optra SRV -- by June-July this year in the largest expansion of GM India's vehicle line-up.

The company was 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.

UNI