Speaking to IndianAutosBlog.com, vice-president of GM India Mr. P Balendran said an electric variant of Beat hatchback will be exhibited in India this month. Note that the event is not a launch.
GM will display the vehicle to gather feedback from the public. The vehicle has no connection to the Spark EV or REVA with who they joined hands with to bring out a rolling prototype of the Spark EV during the Auto Expo last year. The project was scrapped ties after Mahindra acquired controlling stake in REVA. The Beat EV is developed completely in-house by General Motors.
When questioned on the progress of the Beat diesel project, Mr Balendran said the vehicle will be launched after the 15th of July. The Beat is powered by a 1-liter 3cyl diesel engine that produces about 57bhp and 140 Nm @ 1,750 rpm. A few months back our friends at OnCars.in reported that the Beat’s new diesel engine will be marketed as XSDE (eXtra Smart Diesel Engine). It will be mounted with a fixed geometry turbocharger and paired to a 5-speed manual transmission.
Image – 2007 Chevrolet Beat Concept
[...] General Motors is in position to uncork the Beat diesel. Last month GM India told IAB that Beat diesel will launch in late July. Our sources tell us by mid July, the launch will be over and done with. Chevrolet dealers will [...]
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I think the line “Mahindra acquired controlling stake in Mahindra” means to say.. “Mahindra acquired controlling stake in Reva”.. if I’m not wrong!!
well, what can I say? Thanks for pointing that out – corrected now