GM India to export mini car to Europe

General Motors (GM) India Limited plans to make India the sourcing hub for its much awaited mini car which is set to be launched by the end of this year.

GM India aims to export 20-25 per cent of the mini cars which would be produced at its manufacturing facility at Talegaon (Maharashtra). The mini car, expected to be priced at Rs 4 lakh, would be shipped to overseas markets in Europe and Asia Pacific region and also neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka.

Karl Slym, president and managing director, GM India Limited said, “Apart from meeting the domestic requirement, our mini car is also being designed for the export markets. The export market will account for 20-25 per cent of the total sales of the mini cars of GM India.” The vehicle would at first be exported to neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka and later to Europe and Asia Pacific region, he added.

 

The mini car would be a class apart from the other cars in its segment in terms of its external design and interiors, claimed Slym but refused to elaborate further.

Asked if GM India would hike prices of its car models in the wake of rising input costs, “Rising input costs are a cause of concern and ideally we would like to avoid raising prices so that our customers are not affected. However, there is a limit to which we can absorb the escalating input cost and if the upward trend in steel prices continues for few months, we would be bound to effect a hike in prices.” Apart from a brand new mini car, GM India is also set to roll out the Chevrolet cruise sedan within a few weeks. However, Slym ruled out the possibility of launching GM's high end cars like Cadillac and Hummer in the India market.

Asked on the sales target for 2009, he said, “In 2008, GM India clocked a growth of 10 per cent when the auto industry in India recorded a negative growth of 2 per cent and we expect to maintain the same 10 per cent growth this year as well.”

General Motors clocked a sales volume of 65,702 units in the India market in 2008 as against its targeted sales of 85,000-90,000 units. The car maker which has a 10 per cent share in the eastern states sold 5,800 units across all its models in the region in 2008 out of which about 1,000 units were sold in the Orissa market. This year, we are aiming at a sales volume of 7,500 units in the eastern region of the country, said Gagandeep Singh, regional manager (east) of GM India. “GM India was looking to tap the B1 segment of cars priced in the range of Rs 2.5-4 lakh. The size of this segment was estimated at 5 lakh units per annum and the segment accounted for 40 per cent of the total cars sold in the country”, he said.