GM India targets 10% sales growth this year

General Motors (GM) India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of US-based General Motors Corporation, today said it expects to register 10 per cent growth in its sales in India during the calendar year 2009 to touch around 72,000 units compared to 2008.

“The Indian economy is still in doldrums and the car market is unlikely to see full recovery this year. Last year also we grew by around 10 per cent despite the overall car market registering a drop of 2 per cent. This year we are are optimistic that our sales will grow by around 10 per cent year on year,” Karl Slym, President & Managing Director, GM India said.

Talking to reporters here today after launching the special edition of Chevrolet Captiva Automatic and Chevrolet Spark Muzic, he said the company will see sales growth this year thanks to three new products that are being launched and some special editions of other existing products. The company has just launched the automatic version of its sports utility vehicle, Captiva and by middle of the year, it plans to launch Chevrolet Cruz, a sedan and a brand new mini car during the last quarter of the year to push up its sales.

Slym said nearly half of their sales in the current year will come from Spark at around 35,000 units. In 2008, GM India sold 31,600 units of Spark, more than two times growth over 2007. The company aims to capture 10 per cent of the small car market from 6.3 per cent presently by 2010 in India.

“Last year, we have built up enough capacity for small car. Though the new year has seen a slow start the sales will pick up in the second half of the year and we intend to grow our sales by around 10 per cent this year,” he added.