GM to launch 6 new cars; invest $100 mn in Gujarat

General Motors India said on Wednesday it would launch six new cars in India in the next two years, while also stating that it will invest $100 million (about Rs 450 crore) to increase production capacity at its Halol plant in Gujarat.

The company, which plans to launch three light commercial  vehicles from the stable of its Chinese partner Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation during the same time period, also said it has lined up to introduce 14 new variants of its existing car models.

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"In the next 24 months, we will launch six mew models of passenger cars and 14 new versions (of existing models)," General Motors India president and managing director Karl Slym said on the sidelines of the 5th Global Summit of Vibrant Gujarat in Ahmedabad.

He said the company plans to enter the light commercial vehicles segment in India and three models have been lined up, which will be rolled out from the company's
plant at Halol.

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Accordingly, the company is 'investing $100 million in the next 12 months' to increase the capacity of the plant to 1,05,000 units annually from the current level of 85,000 units per year, he added.

At present, the Halol plant produces cars Aveo, Optra, Cruze and multi-utility vehicle Tavera.

General Motors India was converted into a 50:50 joint venture between General Motors and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation in 2009.

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Slym had earlier said by the end of 2012, GM India plans to launch five vehicles from SAIC in India.

Three of them will be light commercial vehicles and two will be passenger vehicles.
The first LCV is expected by the end of the this year and the other models will follow suit.

He had said that SAIC vehicles to be launched in India were expected to have a localisation of 90 per cent, as the company will produce the engines from its Talegaon plant.