GM India exports first batch of cars to Chile

General Motors India has commenced vehicle exports to Chile. The first 140 left-hand-drive Chevrolet Beats were shipped from the Mumbai Port Trust of Maharashtra on September 25 and are expected to reach Chile in the next few weeks. 

The Beat is manufactured at GM’s facility in Talegaon, Maharashtra and is one of the most popular products in their line-up as it is a fuel-efficient hatchback. As part of GM CEO Mary Barra’s recent trip to India, she participated in the rollout of the first Beat for export on September 10. The Talegaon manufacturing facility has an annual production capacity of 170,000 vehicles and 160,000 engines.

In India, the Beat is offered with a 1.2-litre petrol or a 1.0-litre diesel engine, with the petrol also getting the option of an LPG kit. The petrol pumps out 80bhp and 104Nm of torque and the three-cylinder diesel produces 58bhp and 150Nm of torque, both mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. 

“The first shipment of Chevrolet Beats demonstrates our commitment to make our India-built products available in global markets,” said GM India President and Managing Director Arvind Saxena. “We will continue to ship models to Chile on a monthly basis.” 

Saxena said, “We expect to identify additional export markets going forward. This will help drive capacity utilization at our Talegaon plant.”

India has been touted to become one of the world’s largest automobile hubs by 2020 and GM believes the country has every potential as an export hub as well. The exports to Chile is their first step in that direction.