GM India Could Soon Manufacture Electric Vehicles at their Talegaon Plant

Most manufacturers started developing electric car variants in the global market. However, they have stayed away from the Indian auto market, as the infrastructure is not very good. The good news for the Indian auto market is that some manufacturers are now starting to foray into the electric car segment in India.

According to recent reports, General Motors India has announced plans of producing an electric mini car in the Indian auto market. They are currently considering producing an electric car model at their Talegaon plant in Maharashtra, after they preview the model in India, next month.

The company will reportedly also introduce diesel variants of their small car beat, which is powered by a 1.0l engine in this market in June. These models are expected to be priced around 10 to 15 % higher than the current petrol variants. The MD and President of General Motors India, Karl Slym was quoted as saying that they will be showcasing their electric mini car next month.

This electric car was developed in America and is intended for a world wide audience. The company played a significant role in creating the car’s technology at their R&D centre in Bangalore. According to reports, the company was likely to showcase their model on June 5 that coincides with the World Environment Day.

Slym reportedly said that they will depend on customer feedback during the unveiling of the model. If they consider, manufacturing and launching the model to India, then they will utilize their Talegaon facility for its production.

The Talegaon facility has a production capacity of 1.4 lakh per annum. The facility is also being expanded so that it has a production capacity of 3 lakh units every year. Slym reportedly clarified that their REVA project has been completely closed. Their new mini car will be different in comparision to what they were developing with the REVA. In their new electric mini car model, the motor will be powered by a lithium ion battery.

GM India entered into a technical partnership with REVA for producing an electric version of their small car model, Spark which was planned to released in the market by 2010. After M&M acquired a majority 55.2% stake in the partnership, however, GM India discontinued their plans of developing a test fleet of fifteen electric Spark models altogether.

According to reports, Slym said that they currently almost done testing the diesel variant of the Beat model. They will be introducing the 1.0l diesel engine Beat by June, which has been developed exclusively at their R&D centre in Bangalore. Regarding the pricing of the variant, Slym said that it would be more expensive by 10 to 15% than the present petrol fueled Beat.