Chevrolet Spark diesel closer to launch

Just when we thought we were close to the Chevrolet Beat diesel’s launch in India, comes news from GM about a diesel Spark that the company will launch soon. Interestingly, the Spark diesel will sport the same engine as the Beat diesel. GM India Vice President P Balendran revealed the plan in an interview to WheelsUnplugged.

Chevrolet’s new 1.0-litre diesel engine is developed at the company’s R&D centre in Bangalore. The 963 cc, 3-cylinder TCDi (turbocharged common rail direct fuel injection) engine will produce a maximum power of 57 bhp and a maximum torque of 142 Nm.

We had reported as far back as 2009 of GM India’s plans to launch the Chevrolet park diesel . However, for some reason, the company didn’t go beyond making the petrol and LPG versions.

The Chevrolet Spark continues to be the volume driver for GM India. In April 2010, the company rolled out its 1,00,000 Spark from the Halol plant. Spark has won the prestigious J.D. Power Initial Quality Study (IQS) Award for three consecutive years (2007, 2008 and 2009) in a row.

The Spark is the smallest car offered in India by Chevrolet. This supermini is powered by a 1-litre petrol engine that produces 63 bhp of maximum power and 9.2 kgm of maximum torque.

Chevrolet is keen on increasing its market share in the small car segment in India. The company recently unveiled the in-house developed Beat Smartech petrol engine and the Beat LPG model. With the Spark diesel launch confirmed, yet another petrol version, the 800 cc Spark will be launched in the country by 2012.

General Motors’ popular cars in India include the Chevrolet Spark and Beat hatchbacks and the Cruze sedan.