General Motors will produce commercial vehicles in India with Chinese auto manufacturer Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC). The new collaboration will give GM India access to various products including mini-commercial vehicles from its Chinese joint venture. According to Nick Reilly, GM International president for operations, the new JV will invest about $650 million in India.
SAIC intends to provide all support to the new JV to produce commercial vehicles where GM India will offer production units and S&D network. "The JV will explore business opportunities in Asia Pacific and other emerging markets. The first market that the JV will venture into will be India," said Karl Slym, GM India President and Managing Director.
The company will roll out its first vehicle in India by 2011 which will be produced at GM India’s Halol factory in Gujarat. It will also shift some of its production base from Halol to Talegaon unit in Maharashtra. GM and SAIC already have one of the most successful joint ventures in China and Korea. The new partnership in India hopes to bring new CVs and passenger vehicles in India including electric cars using Reva’s electric technology.
