The Machinist

With a steep rise in its production unit, General Motors India is all set to conquer new heights. The Machinist profiles the company’s success mechanism

General Motors India, initially formed as a 50:50 joint venture (fifty per cent each) between General Motors Corporation and the CK Birla Group of Companies, became a wholly owned subsidiary of General Motors of US in 1999. The total investment today in GMI stands at Rs 1300 crore (US$ 260 million). In India, it completed nearly nine years of operation by successfully introducing the German engineered Opel- Astra (1996), Corsa (1999), Swing (2001), Opel (Vectra) 2002, Sail (2003) and Chevrolet brands like the Forester in February 2003, Optra in July 2003, Chevrolet AT in August 2003, Chevrolet Optra 1.6 in December 2003 and Chevrolet Tavera in May 2004. With this product range, GM claims to have brought to the Indian market, unmatched international standards of product quality and customer care thereby proving to be the ideal carmakers for Indian markets in terms of reliability, technology and performance. The above models that are made luxurious, elegant, safe, roomy and manoeuvrable have excelled the expectations of car buyers in India to become one of the most sought after models in their respective segments. GM India closed the last financial year by selling nearly 26,166 against 15,155 units in 2003 registering a whopping growth of 73 per cent, compared to the industry that only registered a growth of 25 per cent. This demonstrates the overwhelming popularity GM vehicles enjoy in the Indian market. The target this year is that of 40,000 units. GM India's manufacturing plant located at Halol near Baroda in Gujarat has increased its capacity to 60,000 units from the earlier 30,000 units. This new capacity was commissioned on March 10, 2005. In addition to the above, GM is also completing the purchase of the Daewoo manufacturing facility outside Delhi whose capacity is estimated to be nearly that of 85,000 units. The transaction is nearly in the final stages of closure. The company's Indian operations are a combination of Indian ingenuity, American management know-how and German engineering to produce premium automobiles in a world class-manufacturing environment. The Opel Astra, Corsa, Opal Swing, Vectra and Chevrolet are some of GM's best selling models worldwide.