A senior official of General Motors has quoted that the Indian automobile industry will report a growth of 2 to 3 per cent in 2013, at the sidelines of Sail sedan’s launch in Ahmedabad. The auto maker is anticipating that its Gujarat sales will increase to 12,000 in 2013 from 8,500 in 2012. Reportedly, the American auto major has pinned high hopes from the Indian market with its past one year launches.
Industry experts also believe that the auto maker is looking ahead to play bullish on the launch of Enjoy Multi Purpose Vehicle (MPV), which will be brought to the Indian shores somewhere in first half of 2013 calendar year. The President and Managing Director of GM India, Lowell Paddock said, “Higher fuel prices, devaluation of Rupee against Dollar and higher inflation are the major bottlenecks in the growth of the industry in India. However, we expect movement of reforms front.”
The auto maker recently introduced its Sail sedan, which has been placed in the entry-level sedan segment, is expected to boost the GM’s sales in the Indian market. In Ahmedabad, the petrol guise of Sail has been introduced between a price range of Rs. 5.1 lakh and Rs. 6.59 lakh, whereas its diesel version is tagged within Rs. 6.42 lakh to Rs. 7.65 lakh (all prices are ex-showroom).
In 2012, the auto maker delivered around 92,000 units in the country, among which 8500 were accounted by Gujarat. He further said, “With the gap in price of petrol and diesel narrowing, we expect the demand for petrol cars to rise. We expect the sales to rise to 12,000 in Gujarat in current year.”
The Vice President of Corporate Affairs at GM India, P Balendran said that the auto company is also looking ahead to expand its presence in the Indian auto market. Speaking on this, Paddock was quoted as saying, “This segment constitutes only 1.6% of the diesel consumed in the country. We want the government to encourage the auto sector, which contributes nearly 10 per cent of the GDP in the developed countries.”
