Chevrolet Beat diesel slated to launch in June

Looks like the Chevrolet Beat diesel will be launched in June this year. GM India Vice President P Balendran reportedly announced the news during the launch of the Beat LPG recently.

DWS Auto had reported about the Chevrolet Beat diesel‘s arrival as far back as 2009. Balendran added that the Beat diesel, which will be powered by a 1.0-litre diesel engine, will not be a major volume player, and will just be add on to Chevrolet’s existing portfolio. Also read: Chevrolet Beat LPG launched

At this point, we have no information on the Beat diesel’s price when launched, but we expect it to be around Rs 50,000 more than the petrol variant.

GM India to increase localization

According to a BS Motoring report, GM India will manufacture the 1.0-litre diesel engine at its Talegaon factory in Maharashtra. The company has invested around $230 million in the Talegaon plant, which can dish out 1.60 lakh engines per annum. So far, GM has invested $1 billion for its India operations.

With regard to the localization of products in India, Balendran said that with the introduction of Talegaon engine plant, some of GM India’s products would have more than 95% localization. Related: Chevrolet Beat review & road test

BSIV-compliant Tavera to be launched soon

Balendran also spoke of GM’s plans of launching a BS-IV-compliant Tavera in mid-2011. As reported on DWS Auto earlier, the new Tavera will get its engine from ICML (International Cars & Motors Limited) or the Sonalika Group. Balendran mentioned that Tavera will get 95% local parts when launched with the Euro-IV engine. Read related story: Rhino-maker ICML to launch new SUV

GM India is selling 1, 10,804 cars in 2010, up 60% increase as against sales of 69,787 cars in 2009. In India, the car market registered a growth of 31% last year. There are concerns that owing to the increase in car loan rates by banks, the auto industry may witness a slowdown. However, GM has its hopes set high with an ambitious 40% growth projected this year.

GM India future plans

The American car maker will introduce 6 new car models in the next 2 years which will include a compact car, sedan, SUV, MPV (Multi-Purpose Vehicle), a pick-up and a face-lifted Captiva SUV. The company will make an investment of $300 million for introducing the new models as they will be built on completely new platforms.

Currently, GM India is the fifth largest car maker and its lineup of cars comprise the Chevrolet Spark, Beat, U-VA, Aveo, Optra, Cruze and Captiva. The company is planning to enter the premium segment with the launch of Cadillac cars in India soon.