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GM launches Chevrolet Optra
The base model of the 1800cc car has been priced at Rs. 7.89 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), GMI President and Managing Director, Aditya Vij, told a news conference here.
The Optra would also be available in two more variants — premium LS and luxury LT — which have been priced at Rs. 8.4 lakhs and Rs. 9.69 lakhs respectively. This is the second model to be introduced by GM India under the Chevrolet brand, which, it said, would cater to the mainstream market and help the company become a volume player. GM India had earlier this year launched the luxury sports utility vehicle Chevrolet Forester.
The Optra will compete in the emerging D1 segment against vehicles such as Skoda Octavia and Toyota Corolla. This segment has witnessed a surge in demand with sales during the first five months of this year growing by 97 per cent.
Asked whether the launch of the Optra would lead to phasing out of GM India's existing mid-size car Opel Astra, Mr. Vij said both models could co-exist in the same segment.
Answering another query on GMI's plans of launching the erstwhile Daewoo Motors India's premium small car Matiz as Chevrolet Spark, Mr. Vij said introducing cars from the GM stable weighed high on the company's priority list. The car, to be manufactured at the Halol (Gujarat) plant, has been developed on a new platform, designed by GM Daewoo Automotive Technology (GM-DAT) while the engine has been sourced from GM's Australian subsidiary, Holden.
GM India, which at present sources engines from its parent's subsidiaries worldwide, has signed a deal with domestic automaker Hindustan Motors to locally produce engines. He said the company had plans to manufacture diesel or automatic versions of the Optra but added that any such introduction would depend on customer demand.
GMI would offer a unique two-year or 20,000 km of service warranty to Optra customers, which would include taking care of all service expenses including consumables and labour. A subsidiary of the world's largest automaker, General Motors Corportion, the company also makes the mid-size car Opel Corsa as well as its station wagon Opel Corsa Swing and hatchback vesions Corsa Sail. It also sells the imported Opel Vectra. — PTI
Future growth markets
Our Delhi Correspondent writes:
General Motors Corporation has identified the Asia-Pacific region, including India, as one of its future growth markets.
Sharing this information at the launch of Chevrolet Optra, Terence B. Johnson, General Director, GM Asia-Pacific, said "Our priority markets are Australia, China, Korea, India and Thailand.''
"We see India and Thailand are emerging as major contributors to GM's operations in Asia-Pacific,'' he said ruling out any deal with its troubled alliance partner Fiat SPA of Italy and Japan's Suzuki Motor Corporation for joint sales and marketing efforts or sourcing auto components in the country.
"India is a major contributor for lot of goods and services we source. Sundram Fasteners and Satyam are two of our major partners,'' he said adding the company enjoyed good success in terms of global sourcing of fixtures and finishings from the Chennai-based Sundram Fasteners.
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