GM to up headcount at R&D unit

General Motors India on Tuesday said it would increase headcount at the GM Technical Centre in Bangalore this year. The company plans to add another 150 engineers at the powertrain design division to take the number of engineers to 850. Presently, GM employs 2,000 engineers at the technical centre, a top company official said.

Presently, the centre has three operational units: research and development engineering and a design studio. “We are in the hiring mode now and will add 150 engineers this year only for the powertrain design facility,” Karl Slym, President and Managing Director, GM India said.

The company has increased its investment in GM Technical Centre to $60 million. The powertrain design centre is presently working on developing powertrain for new models including Chevrolet Malibu, Captiva, Camaro and Cadillac Escalade Hybrid, E-Spark among others.

Talking to reporters after launching Chevrolet Cruze AT, a 6-speed automatic transmission passenger car in the D-segment, Slym said the company expects to sell 120,000 cars in India during 2010, a growth of 72 per cent over last year. In 2009, GM sold 69,579 units in the country.

GM India will also open its engine manufacturing plant at Talegaon in November this year, which will have a capacity of 160,000 units per annum. It will manufacture all engines upto 1.5 litre capacity. The company will start the second shift at its Talegaon plant in Maharashtra next month and go into the third shift at Halol plant in Gujarat from June this year.

The company is planning to launch the electric version of its small car, Chevrolet Spark in October this year. It is also working on upgrading its utility vehicle, Chevrolet Tavera, and launch it during the middle of this year in the Indian market, he added.