GM’s Mary Barra unveils strategy for Indian market

General Motors is looking for an image makeover and about time it gets one. Its reputation had taken a beating previously thanks to the series of recalls it ordered.  Now, on a mission, GM’s CEO, Mary Barra has declared that General Motors Co plans to launch 40 new cars in India and in other international markets excluding China, North America and Europe. However, no timeline has been provided. 

"There are many aspects of the business that we need to work on to make sure we are efficient," Barra told reporters in New Delhi, adding that India was significant to GM's global success.

"In China we play in the core of the segments and here in some cases we are more on the fringe or we are not across the major segments. What we are evaluating here is what is the right product portfolio," said Barra.

Barra mentioned in her interaction with reporters that GM plans to start afresh with the Indian unit as an export base, shipping its first car to Chile. Exports to Mexico and Colombia are also on the cards.

Part of their plan on restructuring the company’s image in India will be investing to develop new products with a technical centre for not just the local market but also for global applications. Chevrolet, which is their brand leader in India, will see an influx of more models and this time, learning from the American experience, product quality and safety is utmost on their minds .

Given their experience in the Indian market, GM will certainly need to have a strong plan in place as other car companies have already begun their plan of action. Appeasing the Indian market is on the to-do list for many foreign car manufacturers as India has emerged as an important automobile hub. As of now GM sells eight cars in the Indian market, namely, the Chevrolet Beat, Sail, Sail U-VA, Spark, Enjoy, Cruze, Tavera and the Captiva.

Source:ET