GM adopts new pricing strategy

By Our Staff Reporter

COIMBATORE, APRIL 10. General Motors India has adopted a ``straddle pricing'' strategy to combat competition through efficient benchmarking to increase appeal for all three variants of Opel Astra - Astra Advantage, Astra Gli and Astra Club, according to Mr. Ankush Arora, Senior Regional Manager (West & South).

Addressing a press conference on the occasion of the launching of the ``Opel Corsa'' and the improved version of its premium segment car ``Open Astra 2000'' here, Mr. Arora said due to substantial localisation, the company had succeeded in bringing down the price of frequently used spare parts considerably and ensuring its availability in abundance at all places across the country.

He said the price reduction would range from 25 to 40 per cent. This coupled with the industry first two-year warranty would reduce the cost of ownership of Astra models by 20 per cent. Mr. Arora said GM had sold 8 million units of Opel Corsa in 75 countries, and out of which 1.2 million cars had been sold last year alone.

In the luxury segment, the company had 11 per cent share in 1999, which, he said, the company hoped to increase it to 17 per cent, by targeting the sales of 8,000 Opel Corsas and 4,000 Open Astras in the year 2000. He further said that the company's plant at Kalol in Gujarat had the capacity to produce 25,000 units in two shifts, but however, the plant was working in one shift producing 12,000 to 13,000 units.

When asked whether GM would enter the small car segment, Mr. Arora said the company was doing research on customer preferences, and it would take a few months before a decision was taken.

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Section  : Business
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