GM India eyes engine manufacturing facility

NEW DELHI: Karl Slym may be only a day-old in the country but the new president and MD of General Motors India has his strategy in place.

Slym said GM India was evaluating the possibility of setting up an engine manufacturing facility in India that would cater to domestic as well as export demand. While the details - including the location and investment - are yet to be finalised, the Englishman, by his own admission, loves setting up plants.

GM India presently sources engines for its products from its other global plants. Apart from multi-utility vehicle Tavera, which is 97% localised, the company's other products run on sourced engines. The company is in talks with more than one state government to set up the proposed plant, but has not zeroed down on a particular location yet.

Slym has also decided to speed up the rollout of sports utility vehicle Captiva to January, instead of March earlier, which would be imported as completely built units from GM's South Korean facility. Captiva would be pitted against Honda CR-V and Maruti Suzuki's Grand Vitara which are also sold as CBUs.

The president Slym said he would evaluate the company's portfolio and may also get luxury brands like Buick, Cadillac or even the Hummer to India.

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