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GM says no slowdown in investments in India
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February 24, 2009 17:38 IST

Global auto major General Motors said on Tuesday it had no plans to slow down on its investments in India, despite the sluggish car sale scenario in the country.

"We have so far invested $1 billion in India and there is no question of puting a cap on it", Karl Slym, president and managing director of India operations, told reporters in Bangalore after unveiling the SUV Chevrolet Captiva Automatic, a premium Sports Utility Vehicle and small car Spark Muzic Special Edition.

The company plans to release two more new models this year, he said, adding that the Cruise Sedan will be rolled out by the middle of this year and the Global Mini Car by end of 2010

An amount of Rs 250 crore (Rs 2.5 billion) has been invested into the release of three models this year, which includes Chevrolet Captiva Automatic.

He said the global meltdown had impacted the car market in India. However, despite the slowdown, the firm had grown at 10 per cent last year and was optimistic of maintaining the growth rate this year as well.

A total of 32000 Sparks had been sold last year and it has set a target of achieving around 40,000 during the current calendar year, he said.

Slym said GM's second plant at Talegoan in Maharashtra had commenced production, while its engine making plant at the same site would be completed by end of 2010.

With the second plant, the problem of capacity constraint had been addressed and the firm was now fully geared up to meet demand, he said.

The company was not aggressive on the completion of its second phase of expansion due to the prevailing market conditions. The expansion would enhance production capacity to 300,000 from the current 1,40,000, he said.

Speaking on increasing its market share, he said it planned to up its eight per cent share in the small market to 10 per cent by 2010.

"With the dual launch of Chevrolet Captiva Automatic and the Spark Muzic on Tuesday, we are maintaining our momenum in the growing SUV and the high-potential mini-car segment in India respectively", he said.

The Chevrolet Captiva Automatic plus, would be available at an ex-showroom price of Rs 20.3 lakhs (Rs 2.03 million) in the city and Rs 24.73 lakhs (Rs 2.47 million) on road price. Spark has been priced at Rs 3,30,000 ex-showroom in the city and Rs 3,91,000 on road.


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