American automotive giant GM will launch its new 1.2 liter engine with SMARTECH technology. The said engine is all set to be employed in the Chevrolet Beat tentatively from next month, officials at the company said.
In the small car segment, Chevrolet Beat is a better known car, equipped with the indigenously developed SMARTECH engine, which is state-of-the-art.
Mr. Karl Slym, MD and president of GM India was quoted as saying that the diesel variant of the car is in the pipeline and would be tentatively launched by the dusk of this year. Speaking about the expansion plans of the company, Mr. Karl revealed that General Motors will introduce a India-specific LCV (Light Commercial Vehicle), by the dusk of this year or the dawn of next year.
Capacity expansion at the Halol Plant in the west Indian state of Gujarat was also in progress. Currently the capacity of the facility is to produce 85,000 units per annum. The expansion will make it a 1, 00,000 units plant.
Coming back to the new SMARTECH engine, Mr. Karl said that the machine was designed and developed by the technical centre that it operates at the IT hub of Bangalore. The said engine was created in co-operation with General Motors plant at Talegaon.
Growth rate that this American car maker witnessed was double that of the industry growth. Yes you heard it correct, General Motors grew at a rate of 60 per cent while the Indian automotive sector’s growth rate was 30 percent.
Mr. Karl giving further details about the company said that General Motors have already invested no less than Rs 5000 crores, which is a testimonial of its commitment to the Indian market, its stakeholders and not the least its customers.