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Thursday, 22 April 2010
 The year has been great for the Indian automotive industry. Most car makers saw record sales figures and now we have General Motors India rolling out the 100,000th Chevrolet Spark from its plant at a simple ceremony. While the Ford Figo is driving sales for Ford Motors, Chevrolet Spark has been doing exceedingly well for GM in the Indian market. Day after day and month after month the Chevy Spark has been pleasing its creator with impressive growth in sales. In the mini car segment, the Spark has been sparkling and has emerged as the most sought after minicar in its segment when it comes to styling, performance, fuel economy, value for money proposition and other product attributes. The Spark is a leader when it comes to internal space utilization. The Chevrolet Spark is a hit globally, and it is one of GM India’s best-selling cars in India. The sales figures stand as enough proof supporting the fact that the Spark is a great car when it comes to quality, economy and performance. General Motors is also confident that the award winning Spark makes for a natural choice for the customers, given its product attributes and the value proposition it offers at such a low price. General Motors has been constant working hard to offer its consumers the best-in-class products and services. The roll-out of the 100,000th Spark from the plant only adds a feather in the cap. The Chevrolet Spark is equipped with a 1-litre, 995cc, S-Tec petrol engine which very generously gives out 63 bhp. The engine is mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. The S-Tec engine, that stands for Smart-Tec engine, is made even better with technological novelty like Sequential MPFI (Multi Point Fuel Injection), Dual Distributor Less Ignition (DDLI) System, Motorized Throttle Intake System (MTIS) and Advanced Optical Sensors. This is why the engine is a high performer. The smooth and noise-free driving with high fuel efficiency only enhances the joyous riding experience. The 995cc petrol engine of the Chevrolet Spark offers a mileage of around 13 kmpl in the city, while on highway, it gives 16.9kmpl. The acceleration is breath-taking to such an extent that even if one drives the Spark at 100 kmpl, it is not going to vibrate. The drive is going to be as smooth as ever. The Chevrolet Spark is being produced at GM India’s Halol and Talegaon plants and these plants boast of a combined production capacity of 225,000 units. The car maker has been doing all it can to boost sales. It has recently started second shifts at both these plants to meet the increased demand for its inventory of products. Another facility, General Motors India’s engine plant with a capacity of 160,000-units a year is also fast coming up at the Talegaon manufacturing plant premises. This will be the car maker’s first flexi-engine plant in the GM world where we can find both petrol and diesel small car engines being manufactured together. The engines are believed to roll out of the plant by the end of 2010. General Motors India is now like a busy bumble bee. It has also collaborated with the Reva Electric Car Company to produce the electric Spark. So we now know that GM is just taking another step towards going green. This path-breaking initiative emphasizes GM India’s commitment to introduce eco-friendly mobility solutions in our country. Reva would provide battery technology for the E-Spark. The e-Spark will be India's first 4-door passenger electric vehicle and will be launched by the end of 2010. Labels: Chevrolet, Chevrolet-Car, Chevrolet-Spark, Chevy-Car, Chevy-Spark, Ford-Figo, General Motors, General-Motors-Car, GM, Spark
Wednesday, 31 March 2010
 Recently, we heard about the Carpuccino, where coffee beans were used as an alternative fuel to power the car. Now, GM will be partnering with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop biofuel using the jatropha plant. The five-year partnership will hopefully convert the weed into a continual biofuel energy crop. This weed produces oil which can be refined into biodiesel. Isn’t that something nice? What does the project target? Well, the jatropha plant will completely be explored. General Motors and the DOE want to prove that remarkable quantities of the oil can be produced for conversion to biodiesel. Also, new varieties of the plant that can give better yield, withstand frost and can grow in temperate climates like the U.S. will be developed. The plant can be grown commercially with minimal care on marginal land. Two jatropha farms in Bhavngar and Kalol near GM's car manufacturing plant will be set up in India. The existing 74.1-acre jatropha farm in Bhavnagar will also be managed. Lab-optimized strains of jatropha, produced through selective and marker-assisted breeding, will be cultivated. The joint DOE-GM funding will enable the Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Institute in India to manage the cultivation. The environmental impacts, starting with fertilizer production from raw materials and ending with the harvesting of jatropha fruits will be analyzed. How is everyone going to benefit from the project? If jatropha becomes commercially feasible, we will no longer have to be completely dependent on petroleum. It will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions. GM India sales, with biodiesel-capable products, will automatically grow and re-state GM India's commitment to green technology. India and Europe mainly rely on diesel as fuel. The jatropha-based biodiesel has great potential as an alternative fuel. It would serve great in regions where national security concerns are sensitive by dependence on imported oil. India, China, the Philippines, several African countries, and the U.S. are conducting research programs in jatropha cultivation and oil extraction on insignificant and weather-beaten land. Jatropha is a tough plant, resistant to drought and pests, and produces seeds containing 27-40% oil. The jatropha seeds, after oil extraction, could also be considered for producing energy. As per Goldman Sachs, Jatropha curcas can be one of the best sources of future biodiesel production. Till date, none of the Jatropha species have been domesticated. Therefore, its productivity may vary and the long-term impact of its large-scale use on soil quality and the environment is indefinite. In Brazil, the Philippines and few other surrounding nations, the oil from Jatropha curcas seeds is already used for biodiesel fuel production. The plant grows naturally in these regions. Several projects in India and other developing countries are also working hard on the jatropha oil for biofuel. The railway line between Mumbai and Delhi is planted with Jatropha and the train itself runs on 15-20% biodiesel. Cultivation is easy. Jatropha curcas grows in tropical and subtropical regions. The plant can grow on almost any territory, even on gravelly, sandy and saline soils. Poor and stony soils do not affect its growth. However, new research suggests that the plant's ability to adapt to these poor soils is not as extensive as before. Complete germination is completed in 9 days. It can also be grown with other crops like coffee, sugar, fruits and vegetables. In Dec 2008, Air New Zealand successfully completed a test flight using a 50/50 mixture of jatropha oil -derived biofuel and Jet A1 in one of the four Rolls-Royce RB211 engines of a 747 jumbo jet. Jatropha oil is much cheaper than crude oil. In Jan last year, Continental Airlines successfully completed a test flight from Houston, Texas using a 50/50 mixture of algae/jatropha oil-derived biofuel and Jet A in one of the two CFM56 engines of a Boeing 737-800 New Generation jet. The test flight marks another hopeful step for the airline industry to discover cheaper and eco-friendly alternatives to fossil fuel. Labels: Alternative-Fuel, Bio-Diesel, Biodiesel, Cheap-Fuel, DOE, General-Motors, GM, India-Fuel, Jatropha, Jatropha-Biodiesel, Jatropha-Oil
Monday, 22 March 2010
Victory sounds like a nice word to everyone’s ears and to emerge victorious you have to be in league with your counterparts. And competition is a major aspect of that. One of the most important kinds of competition that can be seen in the auto industry these days is the ‘ recall’. Yes, you heard me right. Car recalls have become so common these days that they feel more like a part of the procedure rather than an anomaly. The memories of the latest recalls from Honda, Maruti Suzuki and Toyota are still so fresh in our mind and now we have to make some place for the latest recall venture from American auto manufacturers General Motors. The South Korean subsidy of General Motors is recalling about 60,000 units of its popular models, Cruze and SUV Captiva. About 45,957 units of Sports Utility Vehicle Captiva, which is sold as Winstorm in South Korea, will be recalled due to problems in the steering system. These SUV’s were made between April 1, 2006 and December 31, 2007, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said in a statement. Along with Captiva, GM will also be recalling about 12,604 of the Chevy Cruze sedan, which were manufactured between Sept. 25, 2009 and March 2, 2010. This time the problem pertains to fuel supply pipes. Chevy Cruze sedan is sold as Lacetti Premiere in South Korea. "GM plans to recall the models with the problems in other countries. But every country has different rules and standards and each GM operation will decide the size and timing of recalls of those cars depending on their own situations," a GM Daewoo official told Reuters by telephone, asking not to be identified. GM Daewoo, which had earlier said that it intends return to profit this year, suffered net losses in 2008 and 2009 amid falling demand in the global downturn. GM Daewoo aims to increase its exports 13 percent year-on-year to 1.6 million vehicles this year, and targets a domestic market share of more than 9.9 percent. Now the recall of its popular Captiva and Cruze models is sure to jeopardize this lofty dream. Labels: Captiva, Chevy-Cruze, Chevy-Cruze-Recall, Chevy-Cruze-Sedan, Chevy-Recall, Cruze, General-Motors, GM, GM Daewoo, GM-South-Korea, Lacetti-Premiere, South Korea, Winstorm, Winstorm-Recall
Wednesday, 10 March 2010
 Basking in its recently acquired glory of high February sales, American car manufacturing giant GM revealed an interest to introduce its most popular international models, Camaro and Corvette, in India. Timothy E Lee, president, international operations of General Motors, recently said that popular cars like the Chevrolet Corvette and Camaro will be brought to India and sold in select boutique showrooms in small numbers, as these cars will be imported as Complete Built Units (CBU) and the import duties will be high. Lee said, “The import duty required to sell the other kinds of Chevy vehicles like Corvette or Camaro is quite extensive to do it for the buying public. We will have a boutique offering for those kinds of brands but those will never be the volume products for India. Every one of those products will create its own space in India, but it will be very small in numbers”. When GM displayed its American muscle car, Chevrolet Camaro, at the 2010 Auto Expo, it denied any plans of bringing it to India. It is certain now that Camaro and Corvette are India bound, however, GM officials are reluctant to reveal any details about a likely launch date. Recently the 100,000th Camaro was rolled off the assembly line and assigned its Vehicle Identification Number in the U.S. Chevrolet has so far kept its car line-up pretty limited, with most of them being small cars and a few SUV’s ( Captiva and Tavera) and executive segment cars like Optra and the recently launched Cruze sedan. Recently launched Cruze and Beat have proved to be the wild cards for Chevrolet since their launch last year. A brand which was fast losing its grip to other competing cars in the Indian market has revived itself with these new launches. GM has been on a roll in the past few months, at least in India, and it plans to continue to satisfy the Indian car buyers with new offerings. Let’s just keep our fingers crossed to see these iconic cars like that of Camaro and Corvette tread in India pretty soon.  Labels: Camaro, Chevrolet, Chevrolet-Camaro, Chevrolet-Corvette, Chevrolet-Cruze, Corvette, General-Motors, GM, Muscle-Cars
Friday, 18 December 2009
 Chevrolet Cruze seems to cruising in the right track. This premium sedan from General Motors which is also sold in India has won the “Excellent Value for Money” award at the ‘Autobest 2010’ awards. This award could boost the sales of the car in India which was launched in India in the month of September. This car was brought to India to strengthen the brand image here in India. Chevrolet Cruze is a car which actually came as a right car at the right moment loaded with lots of innovative features that was lacking in the sedans that come in the D segment. The award was conferred by a jury comprising of senior and highly experienced journalists from Central and Eastern Europe. The Chevy Cruze contended for its position against the likes of the Hyundai i20, Skoda Yeti and the Volkswagen Polo. It’s a formidable victory for GM and will help GM develop a new range of vehicles. The jury evaluated the competitors on the basis of design, specifications, transmission, fuel consumption, environmental impact and in relation to the interior space where the Cruze reigned over other contenders for its price and excellent quality. Labels: Chevrolet-Cruze, GM, Hyundai-i20, Skoda-Yeti, Volkswagen-Polo
Wednesday, 25 November 2009
 Swedish supercar maker Koenigsegg Group AB on Tuesday has backed out on its potential deal with GM to buy its Saab car brand. Call it an example of “bad timing”. That’s just what Koenigsegg Group AB’s chairman Augie K. Fabela II calls it as. He says the decision to pull out of the deal was purely due to the timing, but funding issues had been worked out. It was just a matter of executing he plan and the plan was fully funded. KoenigseggGroup AB took some precautionary steps in earlier months to secure the deal after in August it said it lacked about 3 billion kronor ($417 million) to conclude the deal. The company went to the Swedish National Debt Office about the government guarantee for the loan it needed to buy the unit. Though official amount for the acquisition was never announced, it was rumored that GM would get about $500 million dollars. GM Chief Executive Fritz Henderson said the company was "obviously disappointed," but "will take the next several days to assess the situation and will advise on the next steps next week." The dead in the water deal lays question to the future of Saab. Saab was one of the brands GM announced it would shed as part of its bankruptcy reorganization earlier this year. It currently employs 4,500 employees a majority of which live in Sweden. GM in recent months has been eliminating existing inventory and taking steps to handover the company to Koenigsegg Group AB, a move it must now reverse.  GM might be able to find another buyer for Saab though, automakers in China and India have been buying brands from restructuring US automakers. Last year Ford sold the Jaguar and Land Rover brands to Indian automaker Tata and GM recently sold its Hummer brand to Chinese heavy equipment manufacturer Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Corp. Labels: GM, Hummer, Koenigsegg-Group-AB, Saab, Supercar, Swedish-Car-Maker, Tata-Motors
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
It is almost confirmed that General Motors will bring the Chinese car into India. And we shall receive a final picture of this once the negotiations between GM and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp is finalized. This act of the GM makes it very obvious that the company has all its heart and soul put into rejuvenate its past glory. The company is getting ready for the towering auto competition in the company, which it foresees.
Wuling will be the other partner in this endeavor. Wuling was started eight months ago. The company is said to be in a state of dilemma currently, where it does not know what to do and what not to. Presently, the three companies are in a three-way joint venture in China. And they are under the label of SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co.
The company is planning to bring beyond commercial vehicles though the partnership. The company will get to India commercial vehicles and passenger vehicles with Wuling trading mini trucks, mini vans, and even the GM Chevrolet Spark mini car.
GM is the biggest foreign automaker in China. And the company has an expected sale of about 1.4 million vehicles in the country. Labels: Chevrolet, Chevrolet-Spark, Chinese-Cars, General-Motors-Cars, GM
Wednesday, 14 October 2009
You would all know how we celebrated the tie up of the only Indian electric car company, Reva, and the U.S. auto mammoth General Motors. It happened soon after Reva showcased its two new electric car models at the Frankfurt Motor Show that happened just a few days back. Except for those well informed, there would be many who would be wondering as to ‘what is cooking’ between Reva and GM after the mega tie up. Well, one thing is sure, both the companies are going to get benefitted from this tie up. The companies, ignoring their tie up as a medium that would make them one and respecting its individuality, are preparing to bring out its first born. They will launch electric version of the small car Spark in India within the next 12 months. Do you think twelve months is a pretty long time, but in fact it is not. If things go well, it is sure that one would not regret for waiting another year before the new electric version of the Spark gets launched. And meanwhile the Indian car market will see many new cars that would surely keep you entertained and you would hardly feel it as a long wait. But now it is up to the car manufacturers to see whether the car ‘has it all’ to lure the customers. As after a year when there will be more electric cars with most modern technology the companies would benefit from the car only if they are able to anticipate what holds for them in the future. And so the companies have chosen to work on fields that they excel. Reva will provide the technology and GM will engineer and manufacture the new Spark. Labels: Electric-Car, Frankfurt-Motor-Show, GM, Revai-cars, Spark
Wednesday, 23 September 2009
 Though General Motors has denied the fact, we have heard that the second largest car maker of the world has a hybrid Corvette project on the drawing board. The regular 2010 Corvette comes with a 430 bhp LS3 6.2-liter V8 engine and six-speed manual transmission. The car can deliver a mileage of 6.8 km/l in the city and 10.2 km/l on the highway. Creating a plugin Corvette is possible as we have witnessed the Fisker Karma. The Fisker Karma is a plug-in hybrid luxury sports sedan that can crank out 400 bhp. We shouldn’t forget that when the Chevy Volt concept was first unveiled, sometimes it used to be referred to as an electric Camaro indicating to its very sporty design. But that sportiness was scaled back somewhat in favor of more widespread appeal when the car went into production. However, the Chevrolet Corvette remains General Motors’ iconic lynchpin sports car. It is powered by a very highly spirited line of V8 gas engines, though new CAFE rules regulating a fleet average of 15 km/l by 2016 have some pundits wondering if the sports car’s days could be numbered. The GM Vice Chairman of Product Development says that the V8 engine of the super car will stay. Down the road, he plans to keep the car alive no matter what it takes even if that means hybridization. So, what do you think? Isn’t it a hint at rolling out a Corvette hybrid in future? Labels: Chevrolet-Corvette, Chevrolet-Volt, Chevy-Camaro, Corvette, Fisker-Karma, General-Motors, GM, Hybrid-Corvette, Luxury-Sports-Sedan, Plug-in Hybrid
Monday, 14 September 2009
General Motors Co. after months of hard times is now ready to win back those days when the company was among the best auto makers of the world, the company is not only thinking for its customers but is also thinking for a better tomorrow. The company is experimenting on the fuel cell cars. This was just another initiative from the company, but now, it doesn’t seems so and the reason that oblige us to think otherwise is the numbers, the company claims that it has passed the one million miles driven mark. The Chevrolet Equinox vehicles equipped with the fuel cell is really able to bring in some great attention, within the 25 month’s time, from the American crowd that have been very keen on driving this car. The interest for the fuel cell cars speaks volumes and supports many others views and reports about the growing interest of the American car customers for green cars. Even though it will take some time before eco-friendly cars with the latest features will be available in the American car market, the American car buyers seem to be not bothered about them, but they are all willing to go green as soon as possible, it seems that the economic slowdown is teaching them new lessons for a better and greener tomorrow. The fuel cells used in the GM cars are powered by electricity, which is created as a result of a reaction between oxygen and hydrogen. And the only thing that comes out of the emission pipe is water. The GM is not alone in the path to an eco-friendly technology for cars, Toyota, which has already produced hydrogen and electricity powered car, and Daimler AG, which is spending millions of dollars to start the production of fuel cell cars by 2011. The company, in India, is also in advance talks with Maini Reva, an electric car maker, for a joint venture. If successful, the company will manufacture Chevrolet Spark based on the Reva technology, which is again eco friendly. The current GM is born of the ashes from the once glorious General Motors and the company is double careful even making a single step and that could be the reason why the company has focused on the need of the time and the slogan for a pollution free tomorrow, green. Labels: Chevrolet, Chevrolet-Spark, eco-friendly-cars, GM, Toyota
Friday, 11 September 2009
 What would you think are the many ways to regain a lost kingdom? GM, the once greatest car manufacturer of the United States and Numero Uno car maker of the world, has taken all the required steps to come back to its lost glory and the latest in the list is its promise to the customers to refund full amount to them if they are not satisfied about the car. The company by doing so is trying to build a clean image and gain back the trust and goodwill of its loyal customers. In fact, the company with this promise alive will try to build its cars with extra care so that they will not have a single customer returning displeased. It is very hard to not have even one customer who complains about his car, but the company will be attaining a great amount of confidence and trust from its customers if the numbers are less. But the company is also taking a risk by bringing in such an offer, because if the number of satisfied customers is not good then the company will be actually in a complete menace, and this initiative by the company will bring in adverse effect and will even affect the future sales of the company. If you are not satisfied then you need to return the car back to the company within 30 to 60 days of purchasing and the full amount will be refunded, but thinking aloud, just wondering what if the returned car is not in a good condition, will the company still take the whole blame and refund the full amount? This program is introduced as a part of a new marketing campaign from the company “May the Best Car Win”. The company brands such as GMAC, Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac will have this offer for their cars purchased between September 14 and November 30, this year. The Pontiac models will not have this luxury as the company has phased out this brand. The Indian customers need to wait to see whether this offer will be available to them. Labels: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GM
Wednesday, 5 August 2009
Chrysler under GM when filed for bankruptcy, on April 30, 2009, did not have many hopes for a brighter future. But when Chrysler thought everything was down and out, Fiat pitched in and Chrysler was able to strike a deal with Fiat, which made Fiat the joint owner of Chrysler. This will in future be a very profitable business for both the companies, a give and take policy. By joining hands with Chrysler, Fiat has gained an easy access to the American automobile market and Chrysler has had the benefit of learning new technologies from Fiat, which will help it to make more new-generation cars than ever in the near future. But it appeared to be a tough journey for Chrysler and Fiat when the sale was delayed by the Supreme Court following an appeal by the consumer groups, Indiana pension and construction funds, and others to stop the transaction. But luckily everything started falling into place when Supreme Court cleared the path for the deal and Chrysler sold its assets to Fiat group SpA. Chrysler, with this sale, has been freed from the clutches of bankruptcy. Chrysler has never gone through a similar situation. Even though Chrysler was on the verge of filing a bankruptcy more than once, it has never happened during its 80 years of business. This plight of the company is mainly due to its inability to think in a contemporary fashion. Chrysler failed to bring out new looks and technology in its cars, it was stuck with the long gone design and features. This didn’t impress the car buyers who were flooded with plenty of options to choose from. This brought down the sale of the company and this finally ended up in the filing of bankruptcy. Now with a new lease of life being imparted to Chrysler, It should come out with innovative car designs and features that could charm the car buyers to Chrysler’s showrooms. Chrysler is a big name for America and now with the US government supporting the Chrysler-Fiat partnership, Chrysler should regain its lost glory. But even months after Chrysler joined hands with Fiat, there are not many clear cut plans announced by both the companies. But let’s hope a real come back from this master carmaker. Labels: Chrysler, Fiat, GM
Thursday, 28 May 2009
The world’s largest automobile market of the United States has dramatically changed in the past year due to global economic recession. The automotive industry in Amercia has collapsed after the recession brought leading car players GM and Chrysler at the verge of bankruptcy. And, even other car manufacturers were forced to ask for cash support to keep their businesses live. Many of the U.S. auto companies are finding it hard to recover the losses. Chrysler has already succumbed to its losses and now the Italian car manufacturer Fiat plans to take over the company. General Motors has already taken a huge fund from the government to support its business. It is believed that at present Ford is the only manufacturer in America that has successfully retained its independent position in the auto market. The car manufacturer refuses to take financial aid from the government but then till how long will the company carry on with the losses? The situation in American car market has become so serious that in the future months even Ford may need to borrow money from the government to support its successful business. Car manufacturers there are worried that the number of car buyers will decrease as days go by and the investments made on them will go down the drain. But in India, the situation is not the same. The Indian car industry is climbing the positive track with more and more car manufacturers rolling out new cars to spark a new excitement in the market. All the new cars launched in the market are designed with best of cues and packed with host of technologies to entice waning car buyers. Many Indian car manufacturers like Maruti and Hyundai are witnessing positive curves on the sales graph. However, the severe loss faced by GM in the U.S. has put its impact on GM cars in India as well. Despite of GM’s aggressive marketing strategy and promotional campaigns, the car manufacturer is not successful in regaining its lost position. Maybe the future has something good for GM. India has given a new hope to many car manufacturers and GM may also find its way out of recession. Labels: Chrysler, Fiat, Ford, GM, Indian-car-industry, Maruti, U.S.-Car-Market
Thursday, 25 September 2008
India has become a symbol for small cars! A number of small cars are in line to enter the Indian car market. First, Nano made an approach to roll out a small and cheap car on Indian roads. Following the trend, Hyundai Motor India, Honda Seil India, Maruti Suzuki, GM and now Mitsubishi also plans to introduce their small cars in the Indian market. Doesn’t it look like that Indian car manufacturers are on their way to establish a small car stable? Mitsubishi’s small car will be introduced in markets like India and China somewhere in 2010. This forthcoming global car will have a rear engine similar to the one in Nano. Though the position of the engine is same, the performance, economics and capacity vary. The new car will come with a 1.0 litre engine. So know, who is next in line for small car race? Labels: GM, Honda-Seil-India, Hyundai-Motor-India, Indian-Car, Indian-Car-Manufacturers, Maruti- Suzuki, Mitsubishi, Nano
Tuesday, 11 December 2007
Waiting for you car to break down and then to take to take it to the service station will soon be a passé. Now, car owners have to pull up their socks, your car will complain of its bad health immediately. The launch of a well advanced technology will give you a complete “health report” of your car. General Motor’s Research and Development reveals a futuristic technology for the automotive world. This technology enables your car to send you an ‘e-mail’ telling you it is time to drop by the closest service station. You don’t have to disappoint anyone by turning down a long drive, because your engine service remains good for a long duration. This latest technology will inform you about even the smallest problem well in advance, so that you can pre-empt its service and enjoy the benefits of a four-wheeler for longer. However, this technology is by no means affordable to the general people, because the electrical changes to be made to incorporate such sophisticated software will most probably be available only in high end cars. It is estimated that the cost of the vehicle may increase by 40 per cent. Seeing as everyone wants to appeal to the general public, the product may be launched at a much more affordable price especially if competition increases. Labels: Automatic car service report, Automobile research and development, Chevrolet, GM, Growth in Indian auto industry, Technological inventions for cars
Monday, 10 December 2007
Indians who are concerned about pollution levels, but can’t do away with cars, can now breathe easy and let out a cheer. US auto maker General Motors, after its recent success with its Chevrolet models in India, is now planning to release its hybrid and electric cars. Over 98 per cent of cars run on fossil fuel products, but global environment concern is driving auto companies to look for renewable, alternative power sources. GM plans to introduce these cars to India within the next five years. Initially, the Hybrid and electric cars (including Volt) will be put on display at the 9th Auto expo in New Delhi held between 10 January and 17 January. Research in the areas of Electronics, Controls, and Software (ECS) will be conducted by General Motors in a tie up with IIT Kharagpur to make the car user friendly and also cost productive. The company is planning the cost-structure for its hybrid and electric vehicles and putting other parameters in place to have a well-organized and productive R&D centre by 2010. GM has allocated more than $1 million for research to be done over the next five years within this new Collaborative Research Lab (CRL). Labels: Automobile research and development, Chevrolet, Corporate social responsibilties, Economical buy, Electronic cars, Environment friendly cars, GM, Hybrids
Friday, 7 December 2007
All efforts to creation of goodwill through corporate social responsibility activities go a long way in marketing and eventually sale of the products, according to a recent study. During the survey nearly 80 percent of Indian’s said that they would go for car makers who create employment opportunities in India and have environment friendly policies. Maruti got loads of praises for its high quality vehicles provided at low cost and its effort towards job creation in India. It was also appreciated for bringing in international brands, in joint venture with Japanese car maker Suzuki, at the same time of their international launch. The automotive sector as a whole was lauded for job creation and employee satisfaction efforts. However the survey revealed that the automobile companies need to do more for environment conservation. Reading the blogs here, it appears that GM, Honda, Toyota, and many others are planning to do just that. Article submitted by Rajesh SawantLabels: corporate social responsibilty, Environment friendly cars, Expansion in Indian auto industry, GM, Honda, Maruti, Suzuki, Toyota
Friday, 30 November 2007
As said in the previous blog, General Motors is finally getting on the right track. Committed, optimistic, and competitive in India. It seems as though the judges of JD Power Asia Pacific gave a quick inspiration to GM. The archetype swing in Indian automotive is about to happen. General Motors has opened the first car design studio in India. This week’s episode focuses totally on GM. This first car design studio has a capacity to employ 70 peoples by the end of this year. Also the main focus of GM will be on small car designing. Anyway, GM has caught my interest especially because of its commitment to small car manufacturing in India. It looks like it is deep into the importance of small cars and adding this new studio in Bangalore, General Motors now has a total of 11 such studios across the world. I am sure many of you are now waiting to hear about the product contributions from the Bangalore design studio. Speculations say by 2012 we can expect some hot little GM vehicles from Bangalore. This is surely a creative way to get people interested in Chevy designs. Labels: Automobile research and development, Chevrolet, General Motors, GM, Ratings on JD Power Quality Study, Special design unit in India
Wednesday, 28 November 2007
Why not us! Maybe this would be the reaction of GM when Chevy scored hat-trick at the Initial Quality Study released by automotive research firm JD Power Asia Pacific. In the statistics Chevrolet Spark leads with a score of 127, followed by Aveo, and Optra with 109 and 97 points respectively. Truth on time: that’s what I felt when I heard about this rating. Am sure General Motors is unquestionably on a roll. GM is coming out with some solid stuff that serves the complete needs of a Chevy owner. Even if Chevrolet cars must not be very well sealed in the Indian market, it has proved its quality in the studies. The JD Power Asia Pacific has ranked Chevy trios based on customer experience after two to six months of ownership. The major factors of the studies are the problems encountered, quality of design and the quality of production. In fact this is the first time three Chevrolet models have ranked highest in their respective segments in the survey. GM’s premium compact car Chevrolet Aveo U-VA and MUV Chevrolet Tavera topped second best in their respective segments. This is GM, world’s largest auto company by production volume, and now they are selling hotcakes in the Indian auto market. Labels: Car manufacturers in India, Car-competition, Chevrolet, GM, Ratings on JD Power Quality Study
Friday, 16 November 2007
Heard about the recently unveiled concept cars in the New York Auto Show in April? Global automakers presented concept vehicles and a few were good enough to win the green signal at first sight. The Chevy Beat from GM was one of these winning vehicles. GM has hinted that Beat might be produced for the retail market. This concept car is considered as the next small car from GM to launch in India. In the show, GM showcased three mini concepts; Beat got the highest public support for its production idea of bringing to the market a right-sized car with a right-sized ecological footprint at the right time. This hot hatch is expected to sport a four-cylinder engine in India. GM has a pretty good demand in the Indian market. However, the Chevy Beat has to win its place and compete with its hatchback siblings - the Aveo U-VA and Spark. We may just see the back of one of these models soon or maybe GM is feeling hatch lucky in India. Labels: Auto-Shows, Chevrolet, Concept cars, GM, Indian car market, New launch, Small Car
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The year has been great for the Indian automotive industry. Most car makers saw record sales figures and now we have General Motors India rolling out the 100,000th Chevrolet Spark from its plant at a simple ceremony. While the Ford Figo is driving sales for Ford Motors, Chevrolet Spark has been doing exceedingly well for GM in the Indian market.
