GM to compete against Suzuki in India with China designed SAIC cars
Published On Nov 10, 2010 05:40 PM By Meenal for Chevrolet Tavera
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The largest overseas carmaker in China, General Motors Corp, has not been able to replicate its success in the Indian auto market. The Detroit-based carmaker is now taking the support of partner in China, that is, SAIC Motor Corp which makes the best-selling vehicle in the Chinese auto market and has a thirteen percent market share. Since its entry in India in 1994, GM has struggled in India with its various Chevrolet models. These models account for merely around five percent of car sales in India. The Shanghai based SAIC and General Motors will begin selling products in India in the coming year. These models will be similar to the ones sold presently in China, said Kevin Wale, President, GM China. This alliance will also challenge India’s largest carmaker with a 41 percent market share, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. and Tata Motors Ltd., maker of Tata Nano - the cheapest car of the world.
Wale commented that the Indian auto market is very much similar to the auto market of China. He further added that they too have a requirement for numerous products which have already or are being developed for the auto market of China. These partners might launch around 3 light commercial vehicles (LCV) and 2 passenger cars in the Indian auto market by the year 2012. Apart from this, the alliance is also likely to target the other developing auto markets as well. In the earlier month, it began exporting the product Chevrolet Sail compacts which were made in Shandong, China to Peru and Chile. Wale said that now the carmakers may export them elsewhere, like, in Egypt, Latin America, Middle East etc. Both General Motors and SAIC have said that they will spend $650 million in future for a new venture that will manufacture and sell passenger cars and also the small trucks in the Indian auto market.
But till now, both the automakers – SAIC and GM have not identified the very first products which will go on sale in the coming year. These two are also planning to use their Chinese expertise for getting a competitive advantage in the Indian auto market, said one of the spokesperson for SAIC.
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