NEW DELHI: After Spark, General Motors’ next small car in India may be the Chevy Beat. The company, which showcased three mini concepts in the New York Auto Show in April (the Trax, Groove and Beat), has indicated that it will commercially produce the Beat.
Sources say the small car, developed by GMDAT (GM Daewoo Auto & Technology) in Korea like the Spark, will target markets like India, China and Korea. The Beat goes into production in Korea in 2009.
Sources say given the car’s GMDAT DNA (like the Chevy Aveo, U-VA and Spark), it will focus on Asia in general and small car markets like India in particular. GM boss Rick Wagoner had, at the Spark launch earlier this year, said that the company will use the “Daewoo engineering capability for mainstream emerging markets like Brazil, China and India”.
He had also indicated that GM was considering another small car after the Spark. Mr Wagoner had, at that point, said any car launched in Asia will also be introduced in India if there’s market potential. GM Asia-Pac spokesperson Rob Leggat could not be contacted.
Sources say the Chevy Beat, along with the U-VA and Spark, will help GM crack India’s bulge bracket small car market. The Spark has already helped GM clock record growth in the first six months of this fiscal. The Spark and Aveo U-VA together sold 18,602 units in the April-October period. In comparison GM’s sedans (Aveo and Optra) sold a cumulative 6,463 units, about a third of the company’s small car sales.
GM officials at the ongoing Los Angeles Auto Show have indicated that the Chevy Beat will focus on non-North American markets. According to international media reports, officials said the markets where the Beat would be a perfect fit would be India, Korea and Latin America.
Although designed to cater to the environment friendly and mileage conscious urban youth, it was quite evident that the concepts would find takers in emerging markets in Asia, particularly small car havens like India.
The Beat will reportedly be based on a platform positioned below the Gamma. It’s likely to sport a four-cylinder engine. It’s currently unclear if GM will come up with a diesel version of the car as well. During the launch of the Spark, Mr Wagoner had indicated that GM would look at diesel vehicles for India in the small car space.
Source : economicstime.com
3 comments ↓
I cannot believe,this couple car is coming to India.Can you please tell me the expected price of this car in India.
houssem
djediai
2am4
[...] 4 Years? If this article is correct then the Beat should be around fairly soon. That article is reinforced by this article. If it’s due out next year in Asia how hard would it be to tool up here? That’s the question and [...]
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