General Motors launches new sedan 'Cruze'

General Motors (GM) Wednesday launched a new sedan "Cruze" in the Indian market and said its yet unnamed small car will hit the roads in December.

"About 72 percent of the Indian car market consists of small cars and a presence is needed in that segment to be a volume player," P. Balendran, vice-president of GM India, told reporters after launching the car here.

The company has launched two variants under the the Chevrolet Cruze brand. The Cruze LT is priced at Rs.10.99 lakh, while the second variant, Cruze LTZ, will cost Rs.12.45 lakh.

"In order to cut costs, we will localise the components," Balendran said, adding that Chevrolet Cruze will have a local content of around 50 percent.

Regarding the upcoming small car, Balendran said: "We will launch a small car by the end of this year. The price and the engine specifications are competitive information not to be disclosed now."

Buoyed by the recent good sales in the auto market, the company has set a sales target of 72,300 units for the current calendar year, 10 percent higher than the previous year's sales of 65,700 vehicles.

"We have already sold around 50,000 units till September. We are confident of reaching the target," Balendran said.

GM India will also expand its sales points to 250 from 195 by March 2010 to boost sales, he added.

Sumit Sawhney, director of sales, said the company planned to export around 20 percent of its production to Asia-Pacific and Europe. At present, it exports small numbers to Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan.

GM India has two plants in India - one at Halol in Gujarat and the other at Talegaon in Maharashtra.

Balendran said the company's 160,000-unit per annum engine plant at Talegaon is coming up fast and will go on stream by the end of next year.

Last updated on Oct 21^st, 2009 at 16:58 pm IST--IANS