Chevrolet Beat is GM India’s first export to Argentina

General Motors India (GM India) today announced the rollout of the first Chevrolet Beat for export to Argentina. The shipment will leave for Argentina next month.

Argentina will be the sixth major export market for GM India. In October 2015, the carmaker dispatched its first export shipment of 3,000 Chevrolet Beats to Mexico. Besides, the company already exports the left-hand drive Beat to Chile, Peru, Uruguay and Central American and Caribbean Countries (CAC).

Further, the Chevrolet Beat recorded the highest growth for any passenger vehicle exported from India and became the sixth most exported passenger vehicle out of India during FY2015-16, with a total of 37,082 units. It was also the third-most exported vehicle in February behind Ford Ecosport and Nissan Micra.

Commenting on the occasion, GM India’s president & MD, Kaher Kazem said, “In keeping with our commitment to the ‘Make in India’ program, we are proud to celebrate the roll-out of the first vehicle for Argentina. The new export market is a testimony to our commitment to provide the highest quality standards to global customers from the Talegaon plant.”

The Beat, which is badged as the Spark outside India, is available in more than 70 markets worldwide and has sold over 1 million units.

The Beat is produced at GM India’s Talegaon manufacturing facility in Maharashtra, which has a base capacity of 130,000 vehicles. GM India began its first vehicle exports from India to Chile in September 2014.

“In 2016, we plan to export over 50,000 vehicles, compared with 21,000 vehicles last calendar year, reinforcing our commitment to the Indian market and our strong local supplier base. This is part of GM’s strategy to make India an export hub for global markets and will help increase capacity utilization at our Talegaon plant. We expect to identify additional export markets going forward,” added Kazem.

The Talegaon facility will become a global export hub for GM, with around 30 percent of its annual production planned for markets outside India.