General Motors inching closer to Gujarat plant sale

• Published On: 25 January 2017
• 1378 Views

The company is in talks with a SIAC Motor Corp subsidiary for sale; the plant will stay operational till March 2017 under GM.

General Motors is a step closer to selling off its plant at Halol, Gujarat. The plant is being acquired by a subsidiary of SAIC Motor Corp, China’s largest automaker, the proposal for which has been cleared by the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

The American automaker was planning on selling its Gujarat plant (set up in 1996) when in late 2016, it learned that a subsidiary of SAIC Motor Corp was interested in acquiring the asset.

The plant will remain functional under General Motors until March 2017, with the automaker planning on strengthening its operations at its second plant at Talegaon, in Pune district. The company says that the Talegaon plant will now be used for supplying to both the local and the export markets.

Previously, in 2015, the company had announced a $1 billion investment in India, along with a plan to launch 10 new models by 2020 (which started with the Trailblazer SUV). However, GM has now stalled its investment plans for new models in India, as it plans on fully reviewing its future line-up for the country.

As of now, the next set of cars for India from Chevrolet is likely to include the new Cruze, the Beat hatchback, and the Beat-based ‘Essentia’ sub-four-metre compact sedan.