Archive for the ‘General motors’ Category

GM India planning to gradually phase out Aveo

An interpretation of new Aveo which according to reports will be the replacement in 2011

GM India is planning to phase out the underperforming Chevrolet Aveo from the Indian market. GM will bring the next generation Aveo into the market next year (T type car of the 300 series platform) and it will most likely replace the current Aveo.

GM India has confirmed the existing Aveo will not receive any further upgrades or new powertrains this year. The company just introduced a CNG variant of the Aveo during the Auto expo. It seems the electric powertrains, which according to the company is suitable for application on small cars, won’t be transplanted into the Aveo.

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Entry posted on March 22nd, 2010 and filed under Chevrolet

Spied – Undisguised Wuling CV for India

The Wuling CN100 van could be sold in India by 2012 by General Motors

We’ve shown you a set of disguised Wuling CN100 test mules evaluated in cold weather a few months back. Here are undisguised pictures of the vehicle for the first time.

GM will sell the SAIC vans such as the CN100 under a new brand in India. The vans will be manufactured in Talegaon and it is rumored that GM is in talks with Piaggio (source – Autocar India) for sourcing low-cost diesel engines for these vans.

We think the CN100 will the entry-level van from GM and it could be priced at around 3.5 lakh rupees with a frugal diesel engine. That would give it an edge over the Maruti Eeco. An announcement from GM India is expected in the following months.

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Entry posted on March 19th, 2010 and filed under General motors

GM to bring Corvette and Camaro to India

Chevrolet Camaro Auto Expo 2010The Chevrolet Camaro SS with black stripes turned eyeballs at Auto Expo

Timothy E Lee, president, international operations of General Motors revealed GM’s plan of selling internationally popular models to India.

Lee said cars like the Camaro and Corvette will be brought to India and sold via special boutiques in small numbers as the duties levied on these CBUs are very high.

Timothy E Lee, president, international operations of General Motors -

The import duty required to sell the other kinds of Chevy vehicles like Corvette or Camaro is quite extensive to do it for the buying public. We will have a boutique offering for those kinds of brands but those will never be the volume products for India. Every one of those products will create its own space in India, but it will be very small in numbers.

GM displayed the Camaro (whose production crossed 100,000 just days ago) in Bumblee’s clothes at the Auto Expo this year and is happy with the response it received. We hope GM will bring these iconic models to India in the next one year.

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Entry posted on March 8th, 2010 and filed under General motors

GM takes IAB on a trip through its Bangalore powertrain facility [update]

Many of GM’s future engines and gearboxes are developed at the Bangalore powertrain center

Today in Bangalore, GM India launched the automatic transmission of the Cruze diesel sedan at 13.45 lakh rupees (ex-showroom Delhi). Before the commencement of the event, GM sent us on a tour of their powertrain facility where it developed engines and gearboxes for some of the world’s popular Chevrolets like Malibu, Escalade hybrid, Volt and Captiva.

The technology centre is currently working on engines of 0.8-6.6 liter engine size range, both in petrol and diesel forms. The engineers are also at work on hybrids (mild, full and plug-in) and fuel cells. GM’s ultimate destination, it claims, is fuel cell technology which offers the perfect deal, both in performance and emissions.

In their presentation, one of the slides suggested GM was working on a 1.3-liter diesel engine. This locally manufactured engine could be transplanted into the T300 (Aveo replacement overseas) which arrives in India in 2011.

Automatic transmissions have gained rapid acceptance in US and in China, it is in high demand. India could be the next to follow says GM which explains how automatic transmissions have the ability to deliver a consistent mileage figure over time compared to the manual transmission which needs more driver effort and delivers inconsistent mileage. The latter is cheaper, but the former is the future, it believes.

For obvious reasons, GM did not take us on a complete tour of the building and did not permit photography or entry at certain points. We spent just about the correct time to learn what they wanted us to, while not being able to extract anything extra from the employees explaining to us about the technologies and hardware. The powertrain facility employs about 700 engineers and has a million display monitors!

We could not get any idea on what currently GM is developing for future vehicles, except for the fact that next generation powertrains were being worked on in that building. The powerpoint presentation, in the beginning of the visit and the manner in which the engineers spoke to us pointed to EVs and hybrids. The facility looks capable of designing new and advanced powertrains, and that is what they were secretly doing on minimized windows while we twisted, turned, ducked and peeked into the work stations of the fully-aware CAD engineers, who giggled amongst themselves at our failed attempts!

images to follow in the next few hours

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Entry posted on February 23rd, 2010 and filed under General motors

GM talks strategy and new cars (incl Chevy SUV by 2010 end)

Chevy Cruze – 300 Series Platform fueling growth for GM India

If we talk of growing trends, here is one that certainly happening. Car makers appear to be targeting tier II and tier III markets. We saw it in the case of Ford, which has just opened 13 dealerships in these markets. Now GM India is pursuing a strategy to improve sales in rural markets.

The Chinese will also be entering the Indian commercial and passenger vehicle markets by 2011. Recently, Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corporation (SAIC) took a 50% stake in GM India and will enter the Indian market in 2011.

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Entry posted on February 18th, 2010 and filed under Chevrolet, General motors

Busy times for GM India

The Chevrolet Beat keeping GM India busy

These are busy times for GM India. The company has announced that it would introduce a second shift at its Talegaon plant to meet the order book of Chevrolet Beat. The shift is being introduced as the Talegaon plant manufactures the Spark and the Beat and both these cars have received a good response in the market.

GM will also be introducing a third shift in their Halol plant which manufactures Aveo, Optra and Tavera to meet market demand. Here is an example of how different markets work.

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Entry posted on February 17th, 2010 and filed under Chevrolet, General motors

Spied (once) again – Chevrolet next generation Aveo U-VA

The new Aveo U-VA is an evolution of the current model and comes with a long wheelbase

The side shot of the next generation Chevrolet Aveo U-VA which will co-exist with the existing model when it hits the market next year with diesel engine, reveals the car’s extended wheelbase. The rear passengers aren’t going to complain, that’s for sure.

The next gen Aveo hatchback was previewed at last month’s Detroit Auto show as the Aveo RS concept. Regular reader’s of IAB would have got bored of this car as we have been featuring it right from last year using batches of spyshots. The interior spyshot of the the Aveo helped in understanding its connection with the recently launched Chevrolet Beat.

The yet to be named (if you’re in India) Aveo hatch will be launched with at least one diesel engine manufactured here in India. It belongs to the new breed of Chevys – the Beat and Cruze are its siblings.

More updates on this vehicle as soon as we learn about the displacement, power and other options.

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Entry posted on February 15th, 2010 and filed under Chevrolet, Spy pictures

Rendering – Chevrolet’s new Aveo for India

President and Managing Director of Indiia, Mr.Karl Slym told IAB that next year, GM will bring this hatchback to India under a different name. Like the path followed with the Chevrolet Beat, which essentially is a Spark replacement in Europe, the Chevrolet Aveo replacement which is the T-Series offering of the 300 platform you see here will be sold alongside in India.

We don’t know anything about the engine options. Possibly the 1.2-liter engine offered on the Beat could be tuned for slightly more power/torque and placed under the bonnet of the entry-level model. Interior spy shots of the next generation Aveo revealed the presence of automatic transmission and steering column mounted instrument cluster.

The rear door handle, like on the Chevrolet Beat, is hidden away in the C-Pillar. Ed Welburn, Global design chief of GM disclosed to us that the new range of models would share components to reduce input costs. We have to wait and see which these components are.

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Entry posted on February 8th, 2010 and filed under Chevrolet, Renderings

Spied – Clear shots of new Chevrolet Captiva diesel

The new Chevrolet Captiva comes with a 2.2-liter engine and a different front facia

Half way through 2010, General Motors will launch the facelifted Chevrolet Captiva with a bigger and more efficient 2.2-liter diesel engine. According to earlier reports the new engine has been designed by VM Motori in Italy keeping in mind the hard-hitting Euro 5 emission standards.

While the GM India camp has remained silent on this matter, we expect the new Captiva here by the end of 2010. As the Captiva is a CBU, we find no reason why GM will continue shipping an older Captiva which has a less capable engine.

The power and torque values of the new Captiva are 10% higher. The new model comes equipped with a 6-speed manual transmission, a gear more than the existing model. There is no news on the automatic transmission, but that should be introduced at a later date. As we said before, the Captiva’s front end did not go well with the muscular body. It will be taken care with the new model which has a smaller radiator grille and a larger grille on the bumper.

The existing Captiva, imported from Korea, comes with a 2.0-liter diesel engine.

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Entry posted on February 8th, 2010 and filed under Chevrolet, Spy pictures

Quote of the day

Karl Slym

“We get a choice of separate products now from our joint venture in China with SAIC, the first part of it is that we shall pick up LCVs from that portfolio, and secondly bring in three varieties of these vehicles to India at Halol.

Our facility at Halol, having manufacturing capacity of 85,000 units, is capable of producing LCVs for which we are planning to start manufacturing in 2011. It’s very exciting as its going to be a whole new segment for us to begin with here.”

- President and Managing Director of GM India Karl Slym tells The Hindu

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Entry posted on February 8th, 2010 and filed under General motors

India bound Wuling-GM MPV spotted testing

The Chinese SAIC van could be the Maruti Eeco slayer

While GM is busy working out how it will sell SAIC’s commercial vehicles in India under an entirely new setup, the Chinese company is performing harsh testing on products that will land in India next year. Spotted here is the CN100 MPV being put through its paces on ice.

The Chinese MPVs will be sold under a new brand in India. GM will produce the vans and trucks in its Talegaon plant. The engines will also be manufactured locally. The final price is expected to be very competitive to some of the Tatas, Mahindras and Marutis.

GM could price the CN100 close to the recently launched Maruti Eeco. Around 2.8 lakh rupees for the base model sounds like a bargain for such a big vehicle which looks better from all angles. We also expect GM to introduce a new line of diesel engines for the SAIC vans.

click through for spy shots

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Entry posted on January 29th, 2010 and filed under General motors, Spy pictures

Spied – Next generation Chevrolet Aveo interior

2011_chevrolet-aveo-interior

A renowned model across the globe, but not a big hit in India, the Chevrolet Aveo is preparing for to attack us in a new avatar. Karl Slym, President and Managing Director of GM India, during the launch of the new Chevrolet Beat told IAB the next generation Chevrolet Aveo you see here, will coexist with the current Aveo in India. It will be the T-Series offering of the 300 platform (The M series was the Beat and the J Series was the Cruze).

The 2011 Chevrolet Aveo will be similar to the Aveo RS showcased at the NAIAS earlier this month. As Ed Welburn, Global design head of General Motors revealed to us during an interview new Chevrolets will have many common parts. The motorcycle inspired instrument cluster and some dashboard components closely resemble the ones on the Chevrolet Beat. The rear door handle will be hidden on the C-Pillar just like it was on the Beat.

The car spotted here is the automatic transmission variant. Not sure if that will make it to India.

The new Chevrolet Aveo hits Indian shores in 2011. Expect both petrol and diesel engines. We’ll not be surprised to see an e-Aveo.

click through to view the Chevrolet Aveo RS Image Slideshow

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Entry posted on January 25th, 2010 and filed under Chevrolet, Spy pictures

Compact car and 3 LCVs from GM India by 2012

The N300 Series van could be in the first lot of CVs from SAIC manufactured in India

General Motors India will foray into the light commercial vehicle (LCV) segment in India next year with three LCV models and the following year launch a compact car as part of the joint venture with SAIC. GM will begin production at its powertrain facility in Talegaon later this year where it will make both petrol and diesel engines.

GM will sell CVs under a new brand in India. The vehicles have dedicated dealerships and nothing to do with the existing passenger car and Utility vehicle network.

GM has not revealed the vehicles or their specifications, but we’ve done a story on SAIC’s commercial vehicles before.

GM will launch its compact car in 2012. We don’t know if this is going to tackle the Nano’s firing or serve as the Chevrolet Spark replacement. We could also speculate about a possible electric heart for the new small car supplied by REVA.

Talking of electric cars, Chevrolet will launch the e-Spark in the Indian market by the end of this year. They plan to sell 5,000 of them in the first year and hope the government will help with incentives and bonuses.

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Entry posted on January 15th, 2010 and filed under Chevrolet
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