GM officials said that the Captiva launch was hardly a few weeks away at the Tavera Neo3 launch conducted in late March leading us to believe that the vehicle will arrive in mid-April. We have learned today that due to unknown reasons, the launched has been pushed back.

The refreshed Captiva was showcased at the Delhi Auto Expo earlier this year. It sports a revised front fascia and minor tweaks in the cabin. Under the hood, a brand new 2.2-liter diesel engine has been transplanted under the bonnet, replacing the 2-liter engine. It is mated to a six-speed automatic transmission.

The Captiva 2.2 sports a jet-black interior and bears many new features such as cruise control, a dual-row heating ventilation and air-conditioning system, an electric parking brake, rain-sensing wipers, and a sunroof.

We first sensed that GM India is going to infuse changes into the Spark when we spoke to GM India’s Vikas Jain at the 2012 Delhi Auto Expo. Jain said the Spark needs a look change and customers are happy with the performance. He stressed on keeping costs in check and didn’t sound very optimistic about Smartech technology for the Spark’s 1-liter motor.

A camouflaged Chevrolet Spark was spotted doing its testing near Paud Road, Pune. Unfortunately, no frontal pics are available as of now. But I am sure IAB’s eagle-eyed viewers would snap one soon.

There are many speculations in the automotive community that this camouflaged Spark is actually a diesel variant. But sadly, Mr Jain also told us that there are no plans to introduce a diesel Spark in India.

Over the years, the Spark has seen many changes to the powertrain and to the interiors. As the Daewoo Matiz, it was an 800cc hatchback. Since it turned into the Chevrolet Spark, the looks of the car have remained pretty much the same. The new rivals like Hyundai Eon and the upcoming Maruti small car are miles ahead of the Spark in terms of design. As a result, Hyundai is clocking 8,000+ units of the Eon every month.

With Maruti all set to bring in an 800 cc entry level hatchback to replace the Alto F8D, the little Spark is definitely feeling the heat. Let’s not leave out the entry of the Datsun brand in India. A facelift could inject some life in the sales figures.

For now, we cannot comment on how soon would this facelifted model be available in showrooms because there is hardly any official information available. But as always, we will keep you updated on the latest happenings in this direction.

Source: Adi_K from Team-bhp.com

You don’t have to wait very long to see the Trax in flesh as General Motors has confirmed this model’s showcasing at the Paris Motor Show in September.

The Chevrolet Trax was rendered by the Brazilian media last week and we’ve constantly kept our readers updated on its progress to the production line. GM is testing this model in Brazil even as we write this. It is Chevrolet’s version of the Opel Mokka or the Buick Encore.

The Chevy Trax is an SUV with dimensions of a large hatchback which brings along with it the fuel economy and dynamics of a small car.

GM says the Trax’s interior will be executed with the standards seen on “more expensive vehicles.” It will hit the market next year and we can expect GM India to introduce it perhaps at the 2014 Auto Expo.

GM is not very talkative with regard to this model, so we’re expecting more details during the run up to the Paris show.

C&D Brazil has presented some details of Chevrolet Enjoy (not to be confused with the Chinese MPV coming from GM India later in 2012) and includes specifications of the Duster and EcoSport for comparison purposes.

They claim that the Enjoy will be 4.28m long, slightly smaller than the Duster but a bit longer than the EcoSport. It has 480 liters of trunk capacity, which is much higher than the other two models. The top-end model is expected to be mounted on 18-inch wheels and Chevrolet may not vote for the idea of pasting the spare tire on to the car’s rear.

The car’s upright stance is well complemented by styling cues inspired by the Cruze and Captiva. Like on modern Chevys, the Enjoy mini SUV has a twin port grille, muscular wheel arches and adventurous looking lights.

The Chevrolet Enjoy is a rebadged Opel Mokka/Buick Encore and like the Duster, it is a global SUV project sold under different brands. It shares components with the Beat, Cruze and Sonic Twins. GM India needs something as global, updated and upmarket as the Enjoy to beat the competition in the mini SUV race. We expect GM India to shift its focus to the mini SUV in late 2013.

[Source - CarandDriverBrasil.uol.com.br]

The reason is clearly the B+ segment is growing steadily and the availability of diesel technology is seen as one of the main reasons. The Hyundai i20, Maruti Ritz and Swift models have made considerable progress in the last two years and the demand for these cars, especially in diesel, has peaked.

Newbies Nissan and Volkswagen are mostly selling diesel cars. GM India sells the Aveo U-VA and Aveo as rivals to some of these important models and they have slipped into a deep slumber due to the non-availability of a diesel engine.

General Motors plans to use the Sails to fix this problem but the talk on many enthusiast communities is the simple looks and bare-bones feel of the Sails may not help them mount a challenge to the Swift or the i20. They are more an Indica and Indigo competitors, they may go soft on these premium B-sized hatchbacks. The Sonic twins which are part of the 300 Series platform also consisting of the Beat and Cruze, is seen as the more appropriate replacements. The Sail sits on an old Corsa platform and imitates the Toyota Etios in its temperamental and behavioral traits.

Do you think a killer pricing strategy can help the Sail overcome this difficulty in reaching more buyers?

Chevrolet Sail technical specifications for the Chinese market attached above.

It seems GM is testing the modded Opel Mokka in Brazil with heavy camouflage. It means that GM is getting ready to present Opel Mokka under Chevrolet brand. GM also intends to sell the SUV as a Buick in other countries under the name Encore.

IAB already informed about the possibility of GM rebadging the Opel Mokka for Indian market and also exposed GM filing a patent for the compact SUV.

With the Ford EcoSport generating good responses from Indian people and Renault banking on the Duster to provide it a turnaround in the Indian market, GM is expected to bring the modified Opel Mokka under its brand to compete with Ford in the compact SUV segment.

GM’s interest for a mini SUV in India

Lowell Paddock, President and managing director, General Motors India has already said that GM would consider bringing a compact SUV to India based on the market progression.

Now with companies going crazy on the compact SUV market in India, GM won’t sit idle and watch it. GM India’s stable holds a range of cars from the Spark to Aveo and Cruze to its big brother Captiva, leaving comfortable room for a mini SUV to occupy.

What are the options available?

If GM wants to bring the Opel Mokka, it can share its powertrain with the Sail sedan. Note that the Ecosport’s length is under four metres to cut excise duty, so GM must trim the Mokka to pit it against the Ford’s mini SUV. This may not be as easy as it sounds.

The one spotted in Brazil looks exactly like the one for which GM filed a patent. On the engine aspect, GM may use the 1.4 litre Smartech engine alongside the 1.3-liter diesel.

Once GM India is done with launches such as the Sail twins, Enjoy MPV and refreshes to the Captiva and Cruze, the mini SUV model and the Trailblazer should be back in focus.

[Source - AutosSegredos.com.br]

Mr P Balendran, Vice President, General Motors India responded when we asked if GM India is going to introduce the facelift of the Cruze, which we have seen at the Geneva Motor Show back in March, next month -

We are working on it and will come out with an announcement closer to the launch. For competitive reasons, we would not like disclose the details at this point of time.

We browsed through official websites of some of the leading global markets for Chevrolet and we are able to report that none of them have started retailing the Cruze facelift. Could the Cruze facelift make its world (market) debut in India? That would be a flattering gesture to all the die-hard Chevy and Cruze fans in India!

A source with direct knowledge on the matter told IndianAutosBlog.com that the updated Cruze will be launched in June, but could not identify the nature of change to the vehicle. Based on what we know now we can confidently say that the facelift is the same model shown at the Geneva Motor Show.

[Image sourced from AutoMotoNews.cz]

Our readers are aware that Chevrolet showcased the facelifted Cruze using the wagon body at the Geneva Motor Show. It is believed that the same front end will be adopted on the sedan, as our rendering by Shoeb R Kalania, attached to the left, proposes. The source is not able to confirm if this is the model that launches in India next month.

Frankly speaking, visually, there is not much of a difference between the current model and Chevrolet Cruze facelift. Minor updates feature on the front fascia like a wider chin, newly design fog lamp containers and revised air-dam. A marginally revised tail lamp cluster completes all the design changes in store. There aren’t any significant changes to the car’s interior.

An official from GM India earlier this year told IndianAutosBlog.com that the Captiva facelift’s 2.2-liter engine will not be used on the Cruze. He added that the Cruze will not receive a petrol engine. We suspect the new Cruze could continue using the same diesel engine though we cannot confirm that in this article.

We’re investigating, so stay tuned to IAB!

General Motors at the Beijing Auto Show 2012 showcased a rendering of the Chevrolet EN-V 2.0, the next generation concept model of the EN-V (Electric Networked-Vehicle) which was recently shown in India at the Delhi Auto Expo 2012.

The EN-V was first showcased at the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai and is a concept that did not fade into oblivion.

The Chevrolet E-NV 2.0 features mobility Internet, electrification and telematics which are next generation technologies on smarter automobiles of the future. The two-seat electric vehicle converges electrification and connectivity. Traffic congestion, parking availability, affordability and air quality were factors that formed the basis of this vehicle’s conceptualization. These factors are going to come at a premium in the future in urban areas where population will grow multifold.

The E-NV 2.0 has metamorphosed into a more road-going form which can travel in all weather and road conditions. E-NV vehicles communicate which each other in its area and constantly share data on traffic. They are compact and run on electricity and thus take up less parking space and don’t pollute. Since they are constantly sharing data with each other, chances of getting stuck in a traffic jam are less.

A version that drives autonomously is also being developed. GM hopes to put these vehicles into the Chinese cities through pilot programs.

The smaller diesel engine is economy-minded but power shortage is not marked. It manages to push out 130 PS (about 20PS lower compared to the 2.2-liter) and 300Nm of torque. The outputs help the car complete the 0-100kph sprint in 9.4 seconds and reach a maximum speed of 200kph.

Chevrolet offers this new variant to fleet customers, a key business area for the company. It hopes the expanded Cruze range (that includes the recently launched hatchback and the wagon coming later this year) will keep the dealers and customers satisfied.

In India, we’re not sure if the 1.7 VCDi will work as the Cruze is marketed as a diesel rocket. There is no possibility of this being sold as a rear seat car, the performance angle is what draws customers to showrooms. It is satisfied with the Cruze’s performance presently. GM does not have any intentions to plonk the 2.2-liter engine (coming through the Captiva facelift) on the Cruze. GM does not plan on immediately refreshing the Cruze either. A petrol engine is also not in the scheme of things.