General Motors mulling Beat hatchback exports to offset slow India demand?

American car maker General Motors isn’t doing well in the Indian car market. The automaker is looking at different ways to better factory utilization levels and one straight forward measure is an increased focus on the export market. General Motors India is said to be mulling the export of its best selling products, the Beat hatchback, to Latin American countries. This approach of General Motors is similar to the strategy that other car makers in India like Toyota and Volkswagen have followed after finding the Indian market to be a tough cookie to crack in terms of sales.

General Motors’ Talegaon factory, off Pune, will be central to the automaker’s newly drawn up export strategy. In the years to come, General Motors has plans of raising exports to about a fifth of its total production at Talegaon. By focusing more on exports, General Motors hopes to tide over lower sales at the hustings in India, as the car maker clearly doesn’t have big ticket volume launches lined up until 2017.

South American nation Chile is said to be the first major export destination for the Chevrolet Beat, which is known as the Spark internationally. Beat exports are expected to commence from the second half of this year. Other South American car markets will be added next year. General Motors is likely to use the Spark GT moniker for the Beat sold in Latin American markets. The same moniker is used for the Beat that is currently sold in the Chilean car market.

The Beat hatchback recently received a minor facelift in the Indian market. The car sold here is available with petrol, petrol-LPG and diesel engine options, with the majority of sales coming from the diesel engined versions. An all-new version of the Beat is being developed and test mule sightings are a regular affair on international roads. The all-new Beat hatchback, Spark globally, is expected to feature General Motors’ new design language that is also seen on the 2015 Cruze sedan.

Via TheEconomicTimes