Friday, December 16, 2011
By Manoj Kumawat
General Motors testing New MUV, coming to India?
A new Multi Utility Vehicle (MUV) from General Motors’ (GM) brand Chevrolet is about to be launched in the country as there are reports that it was spotted testing in some regions of Gujarat. This midsized MUV will provide some threat to the existing rulers in the segment namely Mahindra Xylo and Toyota Innova, apart from its direct competition with Maruti Eeco and Tata Venture. The unnamed utility vehicle will fall in the price bracket of INR 4 to 6 Lakh in India. It is expected that the vehicle will be powered by a fuel efficient and trustworthy 1.3L diesel motor.
These reports can be trusted as in the month of October this year, General Motors had announced to introduce vehicles in collaboration with Chinese automaker Wuling Automobile. The decision was an outcome of the board meeting held in China between General Motors and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC).
It was decided in the meet that the alliance of SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile will launch five new automobiles in India, with the foremost vehicle to be introduced in the first month of 2012. And as per the reports, this is the same MUV that awaits its launch in the country in January next year. The vehicle is basically a product of Wuling Automobiles that is being sold with the name of Sunshine in the Tier II cities of China. And now, it will undergo some necessary changes and will be rebadged as a Chevrolet MUV.
US based auto giant General Motors and Chinese government-run automotive company SAIC work in collaboration for the development of business in India, and share a 50:50 partnership. While Wuling Automobiles has an expertise in manufacturing small trucks and vans that it supplies to the Chinese auto market.
Chevrolet India’s line up of automobiles comprises of sedans Chevrolet Cruze and Chevrolet Optra along with Chevrolet Captiva and Chevrolet Tavera in the SUV and MUV segment respectively. In the hatchback segment, it offers Chevrolet Beat and Chevrolet Spark.
