The Hindu Business Line : GM may drive into the compact space with Aveo

GENERAL Motors has not exactly had a dream run in the Indian market, if we were to compare the small market share that this global automotive leader enjoys here compared to the inroads other brands, such as Hyundai and Tata, have made in the last decade or so.

One of the biggest reasons, of course, is simply the lack of a product (in GM India's portfolio), which can muster up the kind of high volumes that is possible from the sub-compact (B-segment) category of the car market. With four out of every five cars sold belonging to this hatchback segment, the market share chart will surely look skewed in favour of manufacturers with this offering.

GM's India operations started with the launch of Opel brand cars, which the company hoped would help establish an enduring image of quality in the minds of customers. While the Opel Astra managed to help GM make an impression amongst discerning customers, it could not bring into India more relevant (read lower-priced, fuel-efficient) vehicles because it simply did not have that kind of an offering. That changed with the acquisition of Korean chaebol Daewoo Motors' passenger car operations worldwide (except in a few countries such as India). The new company was rechristened General Motors Daewoo Automotive Technology (GMDAT) and was designed to enable GM make a bigger impact in emerging markets such as China and India.

Post this acquisition, GM redesigned and reengineered many of the erstwhile Daewoo cars such as the Nubira, the Kalos and the Matiz, before relaunching them as the Optra, the Aveo and the Spark under its own Chevrolet brand. GM's long-term strategy seems to clearly indicate its intention to leverage the entrenched image of the Chevrolet brand, which is also well recognised in the market here, with its history of presence in pre- and post-independent India.

But GM India is unlikely to be stuck within the confines of low volumes because of its absence from the small car category. It has been trying to selectively acquire the assets of the erstwhile Daewoo Motors India for quite sometime now. But, whether or not GMI manages to acquire these manufacturing assets, the company is now clearly set on introducing at least one new small car within the next few months.

While speculation was rife a few months ago that GM was looking to roll out the Chevrolet Spark (still called the Matiz in some markets) here, the most likely compact car candidate that GM will choose to mark its foray into this ultra-competitive, price-sensitive segment will be the Chevrolet Aveo. The Aveo may be launched in the hatchback form first and will take on existing competitors such as Hyundai Getz, Fiat Palio and Suzuki Swift. Internationally, the Aveo is also available in sedan form and this three-box version is also likely to reach your neighbourhood GM showroom, though it is not yet clear if GM will want to launch both the hatch and three-box simultaneously or separately over a period.

While the exact date of launch is not known yet, based on industry information, we expect GM to launch the Aveo by early next year. The launch has been delayed due to the ongoing problems with the acquisition of Daewoo assets. The new Aveo sedan was recently launched by GM in China, which is a big market for GM, and where the Opel Corsa (badged Sail Corsa) was one of the company's principal offerings.

When launched, the Aveo will be the fourth passenger vehicle to hit India under the Chevrolet brand, after the Optra, the Forester and the Tavera. The Aveo is likely to feature two engine options initially. One will be a reworked version of the current 1.4-litre petrol engine that powers the Opel Corsa and Corsa Sail. The other petrol engine that the new Aveo will be offered with could be a new 1.6-litre, 16-valve, DOHC petrol engine that pumps out a high 103 bhp of peak power. This larger, more powerful, engine may power a sport or a higher trim variant.

No information is available about the possibility of a diesel burner being made available in the Aveo, but we will look forward to the day that the 1.3-litre CDTI Ecotec turbodiesel engine that GM currently offers on the Agila in Europe is also shoe-horned into the compact Chevrolet here. This engine can be manufactured at the new diesel engine manufacturing plant being set up jointly by Suzuki, GM and Fiat. Suzuki may also offer that engine with its recently launched Swift model. But GM just might set the cat among the pigeons if the Aveo is launched with this extremely capable diesel engine.

The Aveo will also be in the same league of the Hyundai Getz in terms of the generous amount of interior space that it can offer. It is likely to be able to offer trim quality on a par or better than that offered by the Getz and the Swift, with the potential for more add ons. Split folding rear seats, top speed of about 170 kilometres per hour and a low turning radius of 4.8 metres are likely to be the other features of the Aveo.

The Opel Corsa's days may be numbered if the auto industry's grapevine is to be believed about its imminent phase out after the Aveo launch.

But it is also possible that GM will retain the Corsa Sail as a lower-priced, lower-trim hatchback option for budget small-car shoppers. However, how GM can manage to retain the existing range and manufacture the proposed new cars within the limitations of its capacities is a question begging answers.

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