General Motors to make fresh investment of US $1 billion in India

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 localisation, Chevrolet will also grow its domestic dealer network to support the greater availability of vehicles and service for consumers nationwide.

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.

Along with Ms Barra, others present during this strategic announcement in New Delhi included GM Executive Vice President and GM International President Stefan Jacoby and GM India President and Managing Director Arvind Saxena. The three had earlier in the day met with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to brief him on Chevrolet’s plans. This was Ms Bara’s second meeting with Modi in India in a short span of time.

“Chevrolet is committed to India for the long term,” said Barra, adding that “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 programme.”

 “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,” he further added.

There are no plans to export the vehicles to mature markets such as the United States, the company informed. 

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.

“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.