General Motors India Starts Exporting Chevrolet Beat-Based Compact Sedan To Latin America

American automaker General Motors closed its manufacturing facility at Halol, Gujarat in April this year and also announced that it would stop all domestic sales in the country by the end of the year. However, General Motors still owns another plant in Talegaon, Pune which is now being used as an export hub.

The automaker has now started exporting cars to Latin American markets, and recently a consignment of 1200 Chevrolet Beat-based sedans has been shipped. GM was already exporting the Chevrolet Beat hatchback to Latin American markets, but this is the first time that the Beat-based compact sedan has been exported. While the Beat hatchback was on sale in the Indian market, the Beat-based sedan was never introduced here. It was showcased at the 2016 Auto Expo as the Chevrolet Essentia and was also spotted testing on several occasions. The production of the Essentia for export purposes started at the Talegaon facility on June 5, 2017. According to GM, the made-in-India Beat is quite popular in the export markets, and it has high hopes that the Essentia too will build on that success.  

Although the specifications haven't been officially revealed yet, the Essentia is likely to be powered by a 1.2-litre, four-cylinder, petrol engine and a 1.0-litre, three-cylinder, diesel engine, both coupled to a five-speed manual transmission.

GM’s exports have more than tripled in the past year. The automaker exported 8,297 units of cars in May 2017, making it the third largest passenger vehicle exporter in the country.

Also Read: Chevrolet’s India Exit – How Will You Be Affected?

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