Three months after General Motors and its China partner SAIC Motor signed a deal to form a 50:50 joint venture for the Indian market, individuals representing SAIC will join the GM India team today.
Three people from SAIC, China’s largest automaker, including a member of the senior management will join GM India. They will not be reporting to Karl Slym, President and Managing Director of GM India. Instead, they will report directly to the Joint Venture directors, who we assume work out of the China office.
By the end of 2011, SAIC-GM will bring out commercial vehicles to counter the massive hits Maruti Suzuki Omni and Tata Ace mini truck. GM also plans to launch SAIC’s micro car in the Indian market in the next few years that will cater to the entry-level segment buyer.
GM India plans to put in place an exclusive distribution network for the vans and trucks though it may sell the micro car out of its passenger car dealer network.
Just an artist’s version of the low cost Wuling mini-car that might be sold in India in 2010
We reported on the possible entry of SAIC into the Indian market last month and already reports in the Chinese media suggest the company has taken a controlling stake on GM’s Talegoan facility.
The reports say SAIC’s first product out of an Indian production line would be a mini car developed by Wuling. Besides the small car, as per Karl Slym, President and Managing Director of GM India, light commercial vehicles would also be manufactured under the JV for our country.
That begs the question – Does this finally mark the first major entry of a Chinese auto brand into India?
Shocker – A report in the media says the mini car jointly produced by GM India and Wuling would roll out of an Indian plant by January 2010!
Wuling’s CV lineup –
Talks on SAIC (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation) purchasing a plant from GM in India to produce low-cost Wuling vans is in the early stages according to a leading Chinese news outlet.
General Motors runs on a JV with SAIC and Wuling Automobile in China and produce the Chevrolet Spark and minivans. SAIC were also in talks with GM to purchase the Vauxhall Insignia platform to build vehicles specifically for the Chinese market.
No more details are available at this point, but we’ll keep a close track on this.
Head over to the official Wuling website to learn more
