GM to invest $200-mn in power train plant

Hyderabad: General Motors investment in India is poised to cross $1billion even as the company is close to commissioning its second Greenfield plant in the country next month. The company has zeroed in on a $200-million power train and transmission system assembly line.

“In couple of weeks, we expect to decide on the site for the new power train line that will serve the Indian operations and possibly support some of the manufacturing plants overseas,” according to Mr Karl Slym, President and Managing Director of General Motors India.

Addressing newspersons here after launching its third dealership in Hyderabad, Mr Slym said the company has plans to launch a slew of models with new designs, more engine variants and fuel options.

The company, which is set to launch their second major facility in India at Talegaon in Maharashtra with an outlay of $300 million, is in the process of developing a small car, he said. The new plant will have capacity to manufacture three lakh cars in three shifts and possibly offer the company the flexibility to serve some of the markets in the region, he said.

Asked if the financial troubles of GM back home will impact the company business in India? Mr Slym said that it is unlikely as the BRIC countries are the biggest growth drivers, with China assembly lines crossing one million in sales. GM is also planning to set up used-car outlets starting with 10 and expects to take this up to 30.

GM India strategy is backed by a strong engineering and research team handling the entire design work. The engineering lab in Bangalore is one of the 11 such sophisticated labs located globally and now fully integrated with global design teams, he said.

The India lab is set to play a strategic role for the next generation cars developing communication systems and working on light materials, he said.

Most of the automakers are designing cars with lower body weight and that is where work on new materials handled by researchers in India will be very important. Some of the cars of the future will encompass all these innovations, he said.

Referring to lower sales in the passenger car segment due to higher interest rates and inflationary conditions, Mr Slym said that though this may have muted overall sales volumes, the company expects better than the industry growth rate, as reflected in sales last month.