It has never been this good for lovers of GM cars in India, with the company expected to launch five new cars with multiple fuel options in 2012. The President GM-India, Karl Slym has indicated that the car manufacturer is going for a revision of its portfolio of Indian cars expecting that the latest launches are going to spice up the market. Slym, who is relinquishing his post in 2012, has however not specified whether the company is going to replace all its existing five cars in the Indian market, with these new launches.
He did not also wish to divulge the name of any particular car that was being considered for probable replacement. However, his statement reflected clarity on one particular aspect that that the company was intending to come with a low budget small car having a lesser than 1.5L engine targeted to meet Indian consumer needs. The current model among all GM cars in India that has the lowest engine capacity is Chevrolet Spark, which has a 1.0L engine. Slym has however said that there is no chance of any car coming in with an engine having capacity below the Spark. Therefore, the only possibility that exists is that the latest small car will have an engine in between the range of 1.0L and 1.5L. Slym has also not indicated clearly on the different fuel options that these new cars are going to be provided with. Speculations are on that the electric variant of the Chevrolet Beat, the prototype of which was recently shown in Bengaluru, could be one of the possible new launches.
This electric car supposedly uses a 170kg Lithium-ion battery having maximum power of 20kW and runs 130km on being fully charged. Slym did not confirm whether this car is going to be launched anytime in the near future. So, as long as any change in plans is not announced, we are hopeful that this car is going to make its debut soon. General Motors is also focusing on introducing highly efficient direct-injection turbocharged petrol engines hoping to counter the dominance that diesel engines are enjoying in recent times. This is another expectation that the consumers are hoping for from the auto giant. These speculations are, however, going to continue till the time GM India does not come out with specifics regarding the models being launched.
