GM eyes breakthrough win with new small car

General Motors India had been a borderline player since its advent in the country but is now all set to increase its market share. General Motors is focused on expanding the dealership and service network and is keen on strengthening its position in the small car segment of the country in order to boost up the volumes in future. Lowell Paddock, General Motors India President and Managing Director mentioned that since small cars segment dominates the Indian car market, the company’s main focus would be to cater to the needs of the customers and meet the demands of the market.

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The Indian car market has seen a sudden shift in the interest of the customers from small cars to MPVs (multi purpose vehicles), he added. The MPV segment is currently being dominated by Toyota Innova and the other car makers are making a move to establish themselves as significant players in the MPV segment too. For this purpose, Maruti is launching its new MPV Ertiga next month and General Motors India is also targeting this segment with the launch of its new 7-seater MPV.General Motors India is eyeing good growth with the launch of its two new vehicles, a premium hatchback Sail and a 7-seater MPV by the latter half of 2012.

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Mr. Paddock also elaborated on the company’s aim to take its market share in India from single digit to two digits; he did not specify a timeline though. The first car to be rolled out by GM this year would be the hatchback Sail and will be launched in both petrol and diesel variants. The platform of this hatchback is taken from SAIC, General Motor’s Chinese partner, but the car has been devised specifically to suit the Indian conditions and to cater to the needs of the Indian customers. GM also plans to launch specifically for Indian car market a sedan version of the Sail hatchback a little later.

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Mr. Paddock indicated that GM India will be working on the suitable products and good after sales support aspect of the business which in past had been a major losing area for the company. As a part of the improvement process the company is targeting 300 sales points and 300 service centers across India by the end of the current year. The figure currently stands as 279 sales points and 272 service outlets.

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General Motors India had made a slight growth in terms of sales in 2011 as compared to 2010. The total sales in 2010 were 1,10,804 units whereas 2011 saw the sale of 1,11,510 units. General Motors’ Indian subsidiary, Chevrolet currently has Chevrolet Spark, Chevrolet Beat and Chevrolet U-VAunder its portfolio in India. The sedan segment has Chevrolet Optra, Chevrolet Cruze and Chevrolet Aveo. The famous Chevrolet Tavera is the only car in the MPV segment.