GM India bets big on planned mini-car

Carmaker General Motors has said it will export at least 20 per cent of the planned production of 50,000 units of its mini car within the first 12 months of launch early next year.

The company will also roll out luxury sedan Chevrolet Cruze in October with a 2.0 litre diesel engine,which would be followed by a 1.8 litre petrol one. Besides,it is planning to launch four models in India in 2010.

“We will start production of our mini car,developed on the concept of Beat,at our Talegaon plant in December and it will be launched sometime in January next year,starting with the petrol variant,” General Motors India President and Managing Director Karl Slym said.

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The mini car would cost around Rs 4 lakh and the company hopes to produce over 50,000 units during 2010,he added.

“The company is targeting to export 20 per cent of the mini car’s total production during that period,” Slym said.

The Indian subsidiary of the US car giant General Motors is aiming to sell 10,000 units of the mini car by end the of 2010 in Sri Lanka,Bangladesh,Bhutan,Nepal,besides the Asia-Pacific region and European countries,he added.