In one of our blog posts today, we just told you about the Chevy Sail. But, that’s not the only one rushing into the Indian market. Yes, here’s more. The Indian car buyer wants more and the very same GM-SAIC joint venture that’ll bring in the Sail, and the three-way SGMW (Saic GM Wuling) joint venture will give us more.

Just think of a six-seven seater in the under-Rs. 6 Lakh bracket. The Maruti Suzuki Eeco and Omni are the only two that one can think of. There are the Taveras, Innovas and Xylos, but they are bigger and pricier. So, after the season of small green cars, affordable people movers are predicted to be the next market movers. And, the real big moves are going to come from China’s Saic-GM-Wuling joint venture. We may have pickups and cargo trucks gushing in. For now, let’s discuss the two most interesting people movers that may see the Indian roads.

The Sunshine which is as big as the Maruti Suzuki Eeco is SGMW’s best seller in China. Around 600,000 units were sold last year. This van has been designed to lure the first-time car buyer who needs a real roomy vehicle. The Sunshine flaunts two petrol variants in China, but in India it may carry a derivative of the 1.2-litre petrol version. Yes, that’s the Chevrolet Beat engine. It may also come with a three-cylinder diesel engine that the Beat will get by December.

The other advantage would be the excise duty benefit. The Sunshine, just less than 4m in length, qualifies as a small car. The Sunshine’s cabin is functional and basic. The seats offer just the right comfort though they may be a little firm for long journeys. But at the moment, what more can one expect for such a low price? The Sunshine may carry a tag of Rs. 4-5 Lakh. That’s what we call more for less, a roomier ride for less.

The second car that excites us is the larger, better-equipped Hong Guang. This car matches the Mahindra Xylo in size and function. China witnessed the Hong Guang’s launch just in April at the Auto China Show. We have written about this Hong Guang coming to India earlier, remember?

Like the Xylo, the Hong Guang has a body-on-frame design and not monocoque where the body and frame is one unit. The seating space on the Hong Guang is for seven people. Flexibility personified; luggage and seating capacity can be increased or decreased based on need. The second and third rows of seats can fold flat or be removed entirely.

Currently Wuling has no diesel options. But India, will most likely see a 1.3-litre engine Hong Guang that GM is going to produce at its upcoming engine plant in India. It will be the Fiat multi-jet engine licensed by GM; the same motor that goes into the Punto, Linea, Indica Vista and Indigo Manza. The 1.3-litre engine may seem inadequate, but it’s not. For this beast, the Hong Guang, expect prices between Rs 6-8 Lakh.

GM-Saic has high hopes for this vehicle. Will it wear the Chevrolet badge? Let’s wait and see. While we see how busy GM is, the others are not sitting idle. Maruti Suzuki is set to begin producing its concept car, the seven-seater RIII MPV which may fall in the Rs 5-7 Lakh range. M&M too is believed to be working on a new car in the same segment, a mini-Xylo which will have a shorter wheelbase and minus the third row of seats. This again may come with an aggressive price tag.