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Mr P. Balendran, Vice- President of General Motors India

Our Bureau

Pune, May 3 General Motors India (GMI) will launch the new mini-car in the Indian market by December, and increase its dealerships to 250 from the current 195, the company’s Vice-President, Mr P. Balendran, has said.

In the city to kick off a new initiative to hold free services and sales camps across India, he said that similar camps will follow in Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.

Among the services on offer here will be a 73-point service check up for GMI vehicles, pollution check, body wash and polish in addition to exchange and loan facilities and test drives. The company plans to hold such camps twice a year in each centre.

Elaborating upon GMI’s strategy, Mr Balendran said that recent tie-ups with public sector banks for finance will help the company focus on rural markets.

“Around 60 per cent of any manufacturer’s sale come from B and C class cities where private banks have lower penetration,” he pointed out.

Till April end, GMI had sold 18,683 units, including 11,000 of the Spark. “We will launch our second mini-car in the market by December. It will be produced at the Talegaon plant,” Mr Balendran said, adding that Chevrolet Cruze, to be produced at Halol, will enter the market by September.

To help distribution, the dealer network will be increased from 195 to 250 by December-end. The used car programme is currently running in nine dealerships and will be extended to 30 in the same period.

The company also has tied-up with BPCL for 24 service centres. Ten of these are operational, while the remaining is scheduled to go on stream in the coming months.

More Stories on : Outlook | Cars

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