American carmaker General Motors today announced that production at its facility in Halol, Gujarat has been extended until March 2017. It also said that the plant will undertake the production of the upcoming Chevrolet Tavera facelift. In July last year, General Motors had stated plans to close down the plant before the second half of 2016.
The Tavera, which is currently only available in BS-III guise, is likely to get a BS-IV compliant powertrain with the introduction of the facelift.
The extension of the production at Halol will provide more time to ensure an orderly transition for employees, suppliers and other stakeholders as the company continues to work through options for the facility, GM India President and Managing Director Kaher Kazem said in a company statement. The Halol plant has a current installed capacity of 110,000 units per annum.
Recently, General Motors shelved plans of launching the Chevrolet Spin MPV in India in 2017 in line with falling demand for MPVs in India. The company said that it would commence production of the Beat Activ, which was showcased at the Auto Expo in Delhi earlier this year, in response to the emerging demand for rugged-looking hatchbacks in the country.
In a bid to strengthen its presence in the market, Chevrolet had revealed plans last year to introduce 10 new models in the next five years and also announced investment of $1 billion in its facility at Talegaon, near Pune, where production would be ramped up to 2,20,000 units by 2025, up from 1,30,000 units last year. More recently, it announced plans to launch five new Chevrolet models within 24 months, including the new Beat, new Trailblazer, Essentia, new Cruze and the Beat Activ.
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