Encouraged by the success of the Beat, General Motors (GM) plans to add a fourth small car to its domestic line-up, the ‘Sail' premium hatchback, by July-September this year.
At the Auto Expo, it also unveiled a new concept multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), which will also be launched by end-2012. These were among the 15 models showcased, which included concepts and vehicles from the US-based automaker's global range.
SAIC range
“The Sail is the first of the many models planned from the SAIC (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation) range coming to India. It has been modified over a year at our Bangalore technical centre to suit the conditions of this country. Both vehicles will have a diesel engine option,” said Mr Lowell Paddock, President and Managing Director, of General Motors India.
Mr Paddock has taken over as the GM India Chief from Mr Karl Slym this week. SAIC has half of the shareholding in GM India.
The sporty Sail hatchback features Chevrolet's dual-cockpit design and can seat up to five people in comfort. It will compete with models such as the Hyundai i20 and Maruti Swift.
MPV concept
The MPV Concept has been developed for emerging markets and offers space for large families, with a choice of seven or eight seats. British automaker Lotus worked with the GM Technical Centre, India, for more than a year and a half to tune the chassis.
The carmaker also displayed two new utility vehicles, the Tavera Neo3 (BSIV) version and the Captiva sports utility vehicle with a 2.2 diesel litre and automatic transmission.