Auto maker plans another mini car

General Motors (GM) India said it was planning to launch a “mini car” along with other two models next year. The mini car is likely to be based on the auto maker's Beat concept, showcased at the New York Auto Show two years ago.

It would be in the diesel and petrol engines and will be the third small car in GM’s offering in the country after Spark and Aveo U-VA.

India would be the company's export hub for the mini car, said Karl Slym, president and managing director, General Motors India. Speaking to reporters after launching the special edition of its two models — Chevrolet Captiva Automatic and Chevrolet Spark Muzic, Slym said the mini car will be locally made and not kit-assembled. The engine and transmission will come from GM’s new stamping plant in Talegaon in Maharashtra. GMI’s new powertrain (engine and transmission) plant will manufacture petrol and diesel engines in the 1-1.5 litre range.

He added that GM has been expanding in India. So far, the company has invested $1 billion and recently started production at its second plant at Talegaon. The first plant was at Halol in Gujarat. The company is also investing an additional $210 million in the powertrain facility at Talegaon.

Slym added that the mini car will be positioned above the Spark and will be a high-end small car. And although it may overlap with stablemate Aveo U-Va, “the two products will not cater to the same customers as the new car will be very different from the design point of view. Target customers would be in the age of 25-30 years.”

P Balendran, vice president corporate affairs, GM India, said the company has witnessed 9 per cent increase in sales last year, while the industry has reported 2 per cent drop. The company's total sales in 2008 stood at 65,702 units as compared to 60,032 units a year ago.

Half of the sales during the current year will come from Spark, he said, adding the company sold 31,600 units of Spark in 2008 as compared to 14,700 in 2007.