GM India sales down 27 percent

General Motors India reported 26.78 per cent decline in its sales for September 2012 at 7,403 units. It sold 10,112 units in September 2011. The 2012 break-up is as follows: 254 units of the Spark, 4,539 units of Beat and 320 units of the Cruze. It also sold 2,136 units of the Tavera during the month. No figures were given for Aveo, Optra and Captiva.

GM India is banking on a slew of new cars to boost sales in the remainder of the year. First of the bloc is the Chevrolet Sail, designed in China by the GM-SAIC design centre there. The company will then launch the Enjoy MPV later in this fiscal. Later this month, GM India will launched a refreshed version of the Spark.

The Sail and Enjoy MPV models were displayed at the Auto Expo 2012 in January. The Sail is a sub 4-metre hatchback ( at 3947mm) and will be powered a 1.2-litre petrol engine. A Fiat-sourced 1.3-litre diesel will expected to be added later. The ‘MPV’ will the second model to be added to the Chevy line-up. The MPV will be sold initially with a 1.4-litre petrol engine. As on the Sail, the 1.3-litre diesel engine will be made available towards the end of the year. Interestingly, British car maker Lotus worked with engineers at GM’s technical centre in Bangalore to fine-tune the MPV’s chassis.