GM planning to launch used car business in India

GM planning to launch used car business in India by the end of this month. This used car business would be launched with the tag 'Chevrolet Ok' by the end of this month and will be floated in a phased manner by the General Motors India.

Karl Slym, President and Managing Director, General Motors India said, “It is a pilot project for GM and we plan to start with 10 dealers. Then, depending upon the popularity and market condition, it will be taken to other dealers.”

He explained, “After the launch of used car business, 'Chevrolet Ok', you can bring any brand car to the dealer and drive away either a used or a new Chevrolet car.”

Currently, there are around three lakh Chevrolet cars are running in the India that are over five years old. General Motors India produces Chevrolet Captiva, Chevrolet Optra, Chevrolet Aveo, Chevrolet Aveo U-VA, Chevrolet SR-V, Chevrolet Spark and Chevrolet Tavera in India.

“The used Chevrolet cars will be certified by the GM and bear a warranty of six months and 15,000 kilometres,” said Ankush Arora, Vice President, Marketing, Sales and After-sales, General Motors India.

Auto manufacturers including Tata Motors, Audi India, BMW India and Porsche India are also planning to launch used car business in India soon. Other auto companies are already into the used car business in India include Maruti Suzuki, Toyota, Hyundai and Mahindra Mahindra (MM). The market for used cars is nearly to same that of new cars. In the financial year 2007-08, total new car sales in India was around 1.5 million, while used car sales was around 1.4 million.