General Motors to get aggressive in 2012; No Cruze facelift planned
The 3 new products that the company is talking about were showcased at the 2012 New Delhi Auto Expo. The existing Aveo twins will be replaced by the Sail models. A new MPV, expected to be called ‘Njoy’, will join the product line. These three new products have been developed by the SAIC joint venture and have been testing in since the last year.
The Chevrolet Tavera has been already replaced by the BSIV complaint variant Tavera Neo. Finally, the Captiva is all set to get a facelift and a new engine in this year. Unfortunately, these ‘aggressive plans’ do not include the Cruze facelift which was showcased at the Geneva Motor show.
Among these new products, GM is betting maximum on the Sail twins. The Sail Twins (hatchback & sedan) will be squarely aimed against Toyota’s Etios twins (Etios & Liva) and Maruti Suzuki Swift twins (Swift & Dzire). GM will introduce both products in segments that have been witnessing maximum growth. On an average, 39,000 premium compacts and 20,000 entry-level sedans are sold in the country every month.
GM aims to treble sales to 300,000 units in India by 2013. The company is planning to launch five new vehicles together with SAIC over the next eighteen months. Both Halol & Talegaon plant can currently manufacture 250,000 vehicles annually.
[Source: business-standard.com]