General Motor’s Talegaon unit in its first phase will have an installed capacity of rolling out 1,60,000 petrol and diesel engines for mini cars Consumers willing to purchase vehicles manufactured by General Motors (GM) yet had to wait for long due to unavailability of engines now have a reason to cheer. The company will kick off the first phase of its engine manufacturing unit in Talegaon near Pune by the second week of November. The plant has been set up at a cost of about Rs 1,000 crore and in the initial phase will have the capacity to roll out 1,60,000 petrol and diesel engines for mini cars and additional 1,40,000 engines in phase II. However, before commissioning of phase II, the company will closely study the market dynamics.
Demand for mini cars on high
In this context, Sachinan Murthy, team leader at Orange Auto Pvt Ltd, a dealer of vehicles manufactured by GM in Vizag, says, “The Indian automobile industry has significant presence of small cars. In fact, a majority of car sales comprise those belonging to the small car segment. Therefore, like other auto firms GM too has been focussing on the compact car segment to drive sales. The upcoming plant will help to satisfy consumer demand for small cars manufactured by GM.”
.jpg) GM’s decision to kick start its Talegaon plant is in lines with initiatives of several other auto majors such as Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) etc that have been looking to expand capacity amidst burgeoning demand for automobiles in the country. In this context, Vijayant Goel, managing director of K R Lamp Cap Industries, a small-scale manufacturer of auto component parts in Dehradun, says, “GM’s engine production plant augurs well for local auto component manufacturers as they can expect more consignments coming their way, thereby notching up higher revenues.” After recording significant sales growth, GM now has plans to export engines and mini cars from India to various countries in the Asia-Pacific region.Arup Choudhury |
