Chevrolet Spin MPV – What are you doing in India?

General Motors (GM) India has just begun testing the Chevrolet Spin MPV on the outskirts of Vadodara, Gujarat. Among major emerging car markets similar to the one here, the Spin is sold in Brazil, Indonesia and the Philippines. GM India is yet to make an official announcement of the MPV possible launch here. The automaker is currently going slow on the Indian car market, choosing to make do facelifts and refreshes rather than all new products. In light of this, it remains unclear as to where the Spin MPV will fit in as far as the Indian market is concerned.

In markets abroad, the Spin is sold with a petrol and diesel engines. 1.2 liter (85 Bhp-115 Nm) and 1.5 liter (108 Bhp-140 Nm) engines in four cylinder layouts make for the petrol engine options on the MPV while the 1.3 liter turbo diesel motor (77 Bhp-205 Nm) from the Small Diesel Engine (SDE) family that GM co-developed with Fiat is the oil burner on offer. While the 1.5 liter petrol motor gets a 6 speed automatic transmission, the rest of the engines make do with 5 speed manual gearboxes.

GM plans compact sedan for India

Measuring 4,360 mm in length, 1,735 mm in breadth, 1,683 mm in height and with a 2,620 mm wheelbase, the sub-1.3 ton MPV firmly sits in Honda Mobilio territory. Price wise, GM already has the rear wheel driven Enjoy in this segment. Like the Enjoy, the Spin is also a 7 seater, albeit slightly larger in dimensions. In terms of overall refinement levels and features on offer, the Spin outdoes the Enjoy, which began life as the Wuling Hongguang, a low cost 7 seat people mover developed jointly by SAIC-GM for the Chinese car market.

If sold in India, the Chevrolet Spin is expected to be priced and positioned above the Enjoy, as General Motors’ third people mover for the Indian market, after the Tavera and the Enjoy. Notably, people movers bring in the lion’s share of the American automaker’s monthly sales numbers here. For instance, the Tavera and Enjoy together made up for more than 40 % of GM India’s 2014 sales. Inducting the Spin into the MPV brigade could allow GM some breathing space until the Amber low cost car platform shapes up.

Spyshots courtesy Team-BHP