Diesel engines are set to play a major role in consolidation of business for General Motors India, with the first in a series, one of the smallest in the country, from their Talegaon plant in Maharashtra, set for launch by June.

“The launch of a 1,000 cc diesel engine for Beat, the smallest thus far developed by any maker in the country, will be followed by the introduction of another 1,300 cc engine. We are in the process of evaluating developing much higher capacity engines, depending upon the market requirement and customer feedback,” Mr P. Balendran, Vice-President, General Motor India, said.

Addressing a press conference here today to roll out their Chevrolet Beat LPG fitted with the Smartech engines, Mr Balendran said: “The 1,000 cc diesel engine will match some of the higher capacity engines produced by our competitors. This is a modern day engine designed to be powerful and frugal in fuel consumption.”

COMPACT CAR

“GM India has various pieces of India plans coming together. We now have two manufacturing plants, with a combined capacity of 2.25 lakh per annum, and an engine manufacturing units with a 1.6 lakh capacity. We have capability to increase the car manufacturing capacity up to 3 lakh. Currently, our focus is on consolidation of business; we will look at exports later,” he said.

“The company has a market share of about 11 per cent in the B1 segment comprising small cars. We plan to add another compact car in the Spark segment by early next year. This along with the launch of diesel powered cars will help us play a much larger role in the country,” Mr.Balendran said.

The company has a clear strategy going forward which will see the launch of over six models, spanning compact cars, sedans, sports utility vehicles, light commercial vehicles along with nearly 14 fuel variants.

“The diesel engines of one litre and 1.3 litre will provide us the flexibility to mount them on different cars, including the launch of another compact car,” Mr Balendran said.

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