General Motors confirmed on Thursday it would spend over $200m on an engine plant in India where it wants to double its share of the emerging market.
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GM will initially establish the plant in Talegaon in western Maharashtra state, adjacent to its second vehicle assembly plant, with annual capacity of 160,000 units but can expand that to 300,000 units, a GM statement said. Completed is scheduled for the first quarter of 2010.
The new car plant will be able to build up to 140,000 Chevrolet-badged, mostly GM Daewoo-designed Tavera, Optra, Aveo and Spark vehicles a year when it starts operations next week. A new small car is also destined for the plant. GM’s Indian capacity will then be about 225,000 units.
The new small car will be launched in the second half of 2009, but GM’s India head Karly Slym insisted the automaker doesn’t plant to target Tata Motor’s low-cost Nano.
The rival company has recently run into trouble over land taken from locals for a new Nano plant, and threatened to relocate it if the matter is not soon resolved.
The new GM small car is a global model but designed mainly for emerging markets. GM India has contributed to its development, Slym said.
Growing, but increasingly competitive, India is expected to account for over 2m passenger vehicle sales a year by 2010, with small cars taking two-thirds of that.
