No formal pact with GM to take over Halol plant: SAIC

China's SAIC Motor Corporation today said it hasn't entered into any formal agreement with General Motors to take over the latter's Indian plant at Halol in Gujarat.
The company had earlier signed a term sheet few months back to evaluate buying the Halol plant but a final takeover would be subject to government approvals, settlement of labour and all other pending issues by the American auto major.
General Motors had announced last month that it would stop production at the Halol plant from April 28 as part of consolidation of its manufacturing operations in India.
"SAIC has not signed any formal agreement with GM for the Halol plant. Few months back, SAIC signed a term sheet to evaluate the Halol plant...," SAIC Motor Corporation Chief India Representative P Balendran said in a statement.

He further said SAIC's Halol plant deal is subject to GM's submission of all government approvals, settlement of labour and all other pending issues by GM.
GM is yet to reach an agreement with workers of Halol plant over its closure with many of them reportedly not accepting the company's voluntary separation scheme.

When contacted, a GM India spokesperson said, "As has been widely reported many times, we continue to progress towards the sale of the Halol plant as we consolidate manufacturing at our Talegaon plant."
In 2015, the US auto major had announced that it would cease production at the plant, a move that would affect 1,100 employees. The company stated that it planned to consolidate manufacturing operations at its Talegaon plant in Maharashtra.

The Halol unit, which had a total annual manufacturing capacity of 1.1 lakh units annually, was originally planned to be shut by mid-2016.
GM had announced plans to invest USD 1 billion to enhance manufacturing operations and roll out 10 locally produced models in India.
However, struggling to make a turnaround in India, GM has put on hold its investments on new models for the country as the US auto major undertakes a full review of its future product portfolio here.
It hasn't put any timeline for lifting freeze on investments on the new products.
Balendran, however, said SAIC's decision to enter into the Indian market remains unchanged and the company continues to evaluate various options to set up a car manufacturing plant in India as early as possible.