Chevrolet announces $1 billion investment in India, shuts production at Halol facility
General Motors CEO Mary Barra announced a $1 billion investment package for Chevrolet India in New Delhi recently. This investment package is to support a new range of products (10 new products) and capacity expansion in India over the next five years.
Among the new products will be the Chevrolet Trailblazer, an SUV which will come out by the festive season - posing here with GM CEO, Mary Barra
This investment plan is part of a larger $5 billion investment plan announced just yesterday to support an all new vehicle family for customers in Brazil, China, Mexico and India. This business expansion comes in at a very crucial time for Chevrolet India especially since business for the American major is at an all time low.
Ironically though, Chevrolet India will halt production at its Halol facility in Gujarat which is also its first plant in India. However, the investment will strengthen its facility at Talegaon. Chevrolet India intends to open up 12,000 new job opportunities through this plan in addition to doubling their growth by 2020 and also increasing exports to 30 per cent, which will be a major area of focus.
Production at the Talegaon facility will be increased to 2,20,000 vehicles against the 1,30,000 it is capable of presently. 30 per cent of this annual production is intended for exports.
Chevrolet also intends to increase localisation though this plan in their future product range which means involving more vendors and thereby making a more affordable product range.
And now with the new portfolio, Chevrolet intends to create a one all-new vehicle family that can replace several existing vehicles. This is nothing new and is an already globally accepted and practised strategy employed by most European manufacturers. This strategy will effectively bring better production cost efficiencies to Chevrolet as well as more affordable products to customers. The vehicle family is being developed by a global group of engineers though principal development and core engineering on platform and engines will take place through General Motors Chinese partner, SAIC Motor.
Chevrolet India will introduce 10 new products over the next five years. These new products will be the Chevrolet Trailblazer, an SUV which will come out by the festive season, followed by the Spin an MPV expected only in 2017, however, these aren't part of the new vehicle family. 2016 will see Chevrolet busy consolidating and expanding its reach in India to prepare for the coming products. To add to that portfolio we will also see the new Cruze and Beat hatchback, details and images of which were recently shared here.
More from OVERDRIVE on Chevrolet's plans for India:
Image gallery: Meet the new India-bound Chevrolet Spin MPV
India-bound all-new 2016 Chevrolet Cruze revealed
General Motors India to launch the Chevrolet Trailblazer SUV in 2015
Chevrolet Announces table Billion Investment in India
| · Investment part of the brand's billion total commitment to global growth markets, including India · Growth expected to bring approximately 12,000 new jobs to GM India and its suppliers · 10 new locally produced Chevrolet vehicles to be rolled-out in next 5 years beginning with Trailblazer in October 2015 · Talegaon's manufacturing base to be strengthened and become export hub; cease production at Halol facility in 2H 2016 · Chevrolet aims to double its market share in India by 2020 DELHI As part of Chevrolet's global growth strategy to ensure long-term profitable growth in the markets where we operate, the company today confirmed that it will make US table billion (INR 6,400 crores) in new investment in India. The announcement was made in Delhi during GM CEO Mary Barra's second visit to the country in 12 months. Barra, GM Executive Vice President and GM International President Stefan Jacoby and GM India President and Managing Director Arvind Saxena met with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi today to brief him on Chevrolet's plans. Chevrolet announced yesterday that it is making a US billion investment to strengthen its business in global growth markets through the development of an all-new vehicle family that will meet the rapidly changing demands of customers in Brazil, China, Mexico and India. The company has invested US table billion in India since 1996. "Chevrolet is committed to India for the long term," said Barra. "We are delivering on our promise and doubling our investment in India. This will allow us to provide our Indian customers the great vehicles they want and the world-class customer experience they deserve. It will also support the government's Make in India program." The new investment is expected to create approximately 12,000 new jobs for GM India and its suppliers. Besides growing the use of the domestic supply base to support increased product localization, Chevrolet will also grow its domestic dealer network to support the greater availability of vehicles and service for consumers nationwide. The majority of the new investment will support the strengthening of Chevrolet's Talegaon manufacturing base in the state of Maharashtra. It will enable the facility to localize, industrialize and optimize its footprint to accommodate additional products for the domestic and export markets. "The new global vehicle family we just announced will have several different body styles designed to meet the expectations of the Indian consumer," said Jacoby. "The vehicles will be manufactured and sold in India and feature striking styling that has never been seen here before. They will also be exported worldwide. With this investment, our aim is to double our market share in India by 2020." There are no plans to export the vehicles to mature markets such as the United States. GM India is expected to roll out 10 new locally produced Chevrolet models within the space of five years. They include the Trailblazer SUV, which will go on sale in October of this year, and the Spin MPV, which will reach the market in early 2017. Talegaon, which currently has a production capacity of 130,000 vehicles, will increase its base capacity to 220,000 vehicles by 2025. It will also become a global export hub for GM, with more than 30 percent of its annual production planned for markets outside India. To rationalize its domestic manufacturing operations, Chevrolet will cease production at its Halol facility in the state of Gujarat by the second half of 2016. "Consolidating our manufacturing in a single location in India will support the long-term sustainability of our business in a challenging emerging market," said Saxena. "This is not a decision that we are making lightly and we are committed to treating those impacted respectfully," said Saxena. Chevrolet has communicated directly with employees at the Halol facility and will have more information to share at a later date. GM was established in India in 1996 in Halol. Its Talegaon facility was established in 2008. GM also operates the GM Technical Center-India in Bangalore, which was established in 2003. India offers a broad lineup of locally built Chevrolet products. In 2014, it sold 56,700 vehicles, giving it market share of 1.8 percent. | |
Starts Rs 13.95 Lakhs
1998cc
Manual
166
360
17.3 Kmpl
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