General Motors to export to SAARC from India

Kochi, June 11: While eyeing ten per cent market share in India by 2010, automobile major General Motors will use the country as a base to expand its exports to the SAARC countries, company officials said today.

Addressing a press conference here, GM India President and MD Rajeev Chaba and Vice-President and Director P Balendran said the auto major hoped its new mini-car 'Spark' would help to rake in the volumes starting next year.

General Motors, which presently had a market share of about four per cent in India, had sold 35,000 vehicles last year. It hoped to do about 70,000 vehicles this year.

With the company's new plant at Pune, with a capacity of 1.40 lakh vehicles per year, expected to be commissioned next year and its existing Baroda plant's upgradation to 85,000 vehicles, General Motors would have a total manufacturing capacity of 2.25 lakh vehicles by next year, Mr Chaba said.

The company's investment in the two plants was about Rs 1,400 crore each.

Mr Balendran said the company had signed dealerships in Nepal and Bangladesh and was about to ink another one in Sri Lanka. ''We will export to the SAARC countries from the Indian plants. However, our priority would be to meet the domestic demand first.

''There is already a two-month waiting list for the Aveo and 45-day waiting period for Spark,'' he said.

Launching the Chevrolet Optra TCDi diesel sedan and the long-awaited Chevrolet Spark mini car in the Kerala market today, Mr Chaba said GM, which was presently operating mostly in the premium segment, would now be able to cater to the popular and diesel segments with these two vehicles.

Describing Kerala as a very important market, he said it contributed about seven per cent of the market volumes.

Admitting that higher interest rates had led to a dampening in the demand for automobiles, Mr Chaba said General Motors had been able to ride out of the slump due to its new launches.

''In fact, in May, we sold 5,400 vehicles, which is the highest ever for us in any month. For the first time, we were ahead of both our comeptitors Honda and Toyota,'' he added.

Mr Chaba said while the diesel versions of the Optra would be available in the Rs 8.75 lakh to Rs 9.99 lakh range, the Spark versions would be in the range of Rs 3.09 lakh to Rs 3.89 lakh.

UNI