General Motors is planning to flex some of its global alliance muscle yet again.
GM which bought into the beleagured Korean car company Daewoo Motors last year will source yet another car from Daewoo stable much like it did with the Daewoo Nubira, alias the Chevrolet Optra.
The car in question is the Daewoo Magnus, aka the Suzuki Verona in the United States, which will acquire the Chevrolet badge and a new name, the Epica.
The Epica, a D-segment car, will come equipped with a four cylinder 2500 cc, 155 bhp engine sourced from Holden, the GM arm in Australia.
The car was spotted rubbing shoulders with the Optra in the GM pavillion at the Tokyo motor show last month.
Sources at GM-Daewoo pointed out the potential for the Epica in emerging markets is good enough and indicated a possible launch next year.
The car will be General Motors' candidate in the entry D segment competing with the likes of the Hyundai Sonata and the Honda Accord.
The car will effectively fill in the gap between the C plus Optra and the upper D-segment import, the Vectra.
The Epica will cost between Rs 12-14 lakh depending on whether the company decides to assemble the same at its Halol plant or import it as completely built units (CBUs).
The GM India declined to talk about specific launches. "We do not comment on product plans for competeitive reasons," said P Balendran, vice-president, corporate affairs, General Motors.
This is a part of the product sharing plan chalked out by GM-Daewoo and Suzuki globally. The Daewoo Nubira/ Chevrolet Optra, formed a part of Suzuki's booty for abetting General Motors in picking a stake in Daweoo, the car now masquerades as the Suzuki Forenza in the United States.
Suzuki has ruled out any possibilty to launch either the Verona or the Forenza in India. The company intends to keep its focus rivetted on its traditional strength--the A and B segments.
GM in the meanwhile will try and push the successful run it has been enjoying in the premium car segment powered by the Optra.
The Optra has captured 26 per cent of the C plus segment in the first four months of its debut. GM's premium D segment offering--the Vectra, a CBU import, has not been raking in big volumes yet, but the company has recently inked an agreement to bring in the car through the export promotion credit gaurantee (EPCG) route for the hospitality and the services sector where the car will cost Rs 9.5 lakh (Rs 17 lakh).
