Last year, the most important launch by GM India was not a car but rather an engine – a diesel engine completely developed in India. They called it the Smartech diesel and it made its debut in the Beat hatchback. The reason why this engine is so important is because it was the smallest diesel engine ever produced by GM and it was exclusively made for the Indian market in their new Bengaluru research center.
However GM has BIG (pun intended) plans for the diesel engine. Firstly, the company is developing a larger capacity engine for its Sail twins and Njoy MPV. Future GM-SAIC models that will enter India will also get the same diesel engine.
As the intensity of demand for diesel cars is rising day by day, it only seems logical to get more diesel variants out for the market.
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If you have been tuning into IAB, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. After countless speculations, General Motors – world’s numero uno manufacturer has officially tied the knot with Peugeot-Citroen, Europe’s second biggest manufacturer.
What’s the Deal?
- General Motors will pay around $400 million for a 7 percent stake in French automaker PSA Peugeot Citroen.
- Deal will make GM the second largest shareholder in PSA, after the Peugeot family, which holds around 30 percent.
- The shares won’t give GM any governance rights over PSA
- The deal is expected to close and take effect by the second half of this year.
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The French labour minister accidently confirmed on a local radio show that GM and Peugeot Citroën (PSA) have started initial talks about a joint venture. The good news is that the talks have intensified and GM is considering purchasing 7% of PSA. The bad news is that previously speculated partners Fiat-Chrysler are out of the table. As a result, Fiat Chrysler is looking for an additional partner to help share production and development costs.
If GM-PSA deal goes through, General Motors will purchase 7% of PSA but cannot purchase further shares in the future unless given permission from PSA. The two companies are likely co-develop engines, transmissions and platforms that would be used by Peugeot/Citroën and Opel/Vauxhall. The idea is to enjoy operating efficiencies through this partnership, going beyond a single vehicle collaboration.
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Recently, we brought you a story about Fiat and Peugeot-Citroen (PSA) possibly collaborating to fight the stronghold of the Germans in the European markets. While we have no updates on that front, a startling twist has been introduced by French Labor Minister Xavier Bertrand.
The minister revealed on a radio show that PSA is in advanced talks with General Motors for a potential partnership.
The alliance makes a lot of sense for both manufacturers. GM’s troubled European division has been reeling under losses and could definitely use a helping hand from PSA (Europe second biggest manufacturer).
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With VW snatching the 2nd position from Toyota in terms of total sales, look who is back on top again! General Motors has finally declared its total sales for the year 2011 to be a whopping 9.03 million units.
With this, General Motors can claim to be the numero uno manufacturer of the world. VW sold 8.16 million units in 2011 and although Toyota has yet to report its total volume for last year, but last month the Japanese company estimated its annual sales at 7.9 million vehicles.
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While General Motors India remained in ‘consolidation phase’ for the year 2011, the manufacturer plans to get very aggressive in 2012. The company plans to showcase many new vehicles at the 2012 Delhi Auto Expo.
First of which is the brand new Captiva which has been caught testing numerous times. The Captiva will don a new sophisticated look at the front. Some minor changes to the tail lamps will also be present. The most important change is the engine which will be a brand new 2.2L CRDI unit producing 165 PS and 350 NM of torque in both manual and automatic form.
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BMW is betting big of green cars to drive the growth in the future. Recently, they partnered with Toyota to get access to their hybrid technology. Dust hasn’t settled yet and BMW is already in talks with General Motors to get access to their fuel cell technologies.
German weekly business magazine Wirtschaftswoche reported that the two companies plan to join forces over the development of fuel cell technology.
The talks between the two companies are in highly advanced stage according to the media report and the plan would give BMW future access to GM’s fuel cell technology and in exchange, BMW would contribute to the research costs.
Previously, BMW has developed fuel-cell version of both the 1-Series and 7-Series. However, with a dedicated ‘i’ brand in place just for green vehicles, the company is on a rampage to test new fuel saving technologies that could power the future.
With spiraling research and development cost, most companies are forced to have a joint venture that could help them ease the burden. And at the end of the day, the customer gets a value proposition that he/she could afford and enjoy.
Inset – BMW X6M from Auto Expo 2010 has no relation to the story.
General Motors has begun development of an all-new compact electric car for worldwide markets. The car will be launched Internationally sometime next year and could hit Indian shores in 2012-2013. The car could be based on the Electric Networked Vehicle (EN-V) concept electric car which GM showcased in China earlier this year.
General Motors was set to launch the electric version of the Spark showcased at the Auto Expo, in collaboration with the Reva Electric Car Company (RECC) during the festive season this year, but after Mahindra announced an acquisition of 55.2 % of RECC, GM announced that it was pulling the plug on the electric Spark project and that it will go solo on its electric car plans for the Indian market.
Karl Slym, President and Managing Director, GM India to Autocar India -
The mini electric car will suit the congested traffic conditions of Indian cities, and the introduction could be within a couple of years.
Regarding the possibility of the Chevrolet Volt being launched in India, Mr. Slym said that the company was unsure whether the market for such a car existed in India and the number of customers who want to own such a car. The Volt is to be launched abroad in November this year.
GM India has lined up new variants of its existing car lineup for launch over the coming months and will start off with the launch of the LPG version of the Beat during the festive season, followed by the diesel version of the Beat in early 2011. In between these launches, the company will also introduce the upgraded Bharat Stage IV compliant Tavera. The company will also launch the Cruze Petrol and the facelifted Captiva over the next one year.
Last year, the most important launch by GM India was not a car but rather an engine – a diesel engine completely developed in India. They called it the Smartech diesel and it made its debut in the Beat hatchback. The reason why this engine is so important is because it was the smallest diesel engine ever produced by GM and it was exclusively made for the Indian market in their new Bengaluru research center.
