GM working with govt on Tavera issue

GM had stopped production and sale of Tavera BSIII on June 4

US-based auto major General Motors today said it is working closely with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) on the issue of violations of emission norms by its multi-purpose vehicle Chevrolet Tavera and said it has received approval for re-starting production of the BSIII model of vehicle.

Lowell Paddock, president and managing director, General Motors India (GMI) said, "We are cooperating fully with the ministry. We are addressing their questions and we plan to cooperate with them in every way. We have received approval for the Tavera BSIII yesterday and we will be back on production on that variant in the next couple of weeks.”

GM had stopped production and sale of the Tavera BSIII on June 4 and the Tavera BSIV on July 2. The company is also expecting to begin production of Tavera BSIV variant soon after receiving approval.

"As we go through the re-approval process for the rest of the vehicles, they will also be back on production. So certainly, as we go through the balance of the summer, we will be restoring full production of Tavera”, added Powell.

In July, the company had recalled 1,14, 000 units of Tavera manufactured between 2005 and 2013 to address emissions and specification issues.

The company also recalled 4,000 units of the diesel variant of its Sail model on Tuesday to address a potential engine issue. Powell informed, "We initiated a recall of sales and we are now announcing today to the public and to our dealers that 'Sail' diesel is back in the market.”

MoRTH has set up a panel for investigating violation of emission norms by General Motors. The administrative panel instituted by the government to probe the recall of 1,14,000 units of Tavera by General Motors will evaluate the integrity of the conformity of production (COP) processes being followed by testing agencies and automobile companies and recommend measures to tighten them.

General Motors globally is said to have dismissed more than 25 employees including Sam Winegarden, GM’s vice-president for global engine engineering and India CFO Anil Mehrotra.

Powell said the company's investment plans in India are on track. "In terms of what we were doing in the future products plans and in terms of localisation, its at full speed from our perspective. India is still a key market for GM and we want to continue to grow once the market turns favouraable.”