General Motors India

General Motors India Private Limited was a subsidiary of General Motors for its operations in India. General Motors had 93% stake in this partnership and the remaining 7% was held by SAIC.[1] It was the 5th largest automobile manufacturing company in India after Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Tata Motors and Mahindra.[2] After 21 years of operations in India, General Motors ceased selling cars in India by the end of 2017 as a part of its global restructuring actions.[3]

General Motors India Private Limited
IndustryAutomotive
Founded1993
Defunct2020 (2020)
HeadquartersHalol, Gujarat (Registered Office)
Gurgaon, Haryana (Marketing Office)
Key people
Sanjiv Gupta, President and MD
ProductsA-segment cars, internal combustion engines (for export only)
Number of employees
4,000
ParentGeneral Motors (93%)
SAIC (7%)
SubsidiariesOpel India Private Limited
Chevrolet Sales India Private Limited

General Motors India's primary focus was to manufacture and export of small cars and automotive components. Its export markets included Mexico and a few other Latin American countries until 2020. Its secondary focus was providing parts and related services for the GM vehicles that were sold in India.

History

General Motors started doing business in India in 1928, assembling Chevrolet cars, trucks and buses, but ceased its assembly operations in 1952. GM continued with tie-ups with Hindustan Motors to build Bedford trucks, Vauxhall cars, Allison Transmissions and off-road equipment.

In 1994, GMIPL was formed as a joint venture, owned 50 percent by Hindustan Motors and 50 percent by General Motors, to produce and sell Opel branded vehicles. GM bought out the Hindustan Motors interest in 1999.[4][5] GMIPL continued to produce Opel cars at the Halol facility until 2003, when it started production of Chevrolet vehicles at that location.

In 2000, GMIPL moved its headquarters to Gurgaon. In 2003, the company opened its technical center operations in Bangalore, which included research and development and vehicle engineering activities. The technical center operations were expanded to include purchasing and financial support services for General Motors operations located outside of India (2006), vehicle engine and transmission design and engineering (2007) and a vehicle design studio (2007).

GMIPL began construction of a second vehicle assembly plant in Talegaon in 2006, which began production of Chevrolet vehicles in September 2008.

In late 2009, General Motors announced that it would put its India operation into a 50–50 venture with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation of China, which is the partner of GM's main venture in China.[6]

In October 2012, General Motors-Chevrolet announced that it has increased stake in its Indian subsidiary to 93% by buying 43% from its Chinese partner SAIC for an undisclosed sum.[1]

In December 2017, the company stopped selling Chevrolet vehicles in the Indian market, while the Beat continued to be manufactured at the Talegaon plant for exports. The Talegaon plant was closed on 24 December 2020.[7]

In January 2020, it was announced Chinese automobile manufacturer Great Wall Motors was set to acquire General Motors’ Talegaon manufacturing plant near Pune.[8][9][10] The plant was expected to be sold by December 2020 but due to the 2020 China–India skirmishes, the Indian government has not yet approved the sale of the plant. This was the last GM plant in India after the sale of the Halol, Gujarat plant to SAIC.[11] The deal collapsed in June 2022.[12]

Manufacturing facilities

GMIPL operated vehicle manufacturing plants in Halol, Gujarat and Talegaon Dabhade, Maharashtra. It maintained headquarters in Halol and Gurgaon and a large technical center in Bangalore. Its Halol and Talegaon Dabhade manufacturing plants had an combined production capacity of 225,000 vehicles annually. Between 2018 and 2020, this plant only produced the left-hand drive Beat hatchback and notchback for export markets,[13] while the Halol plant was taken over by MG Motor India.[14]

Sales, service and marketing business

Like most other automotive companies in India, GMIPL appoints independently owned dealers to sell, service and market vehicles that it produces. As of August 2008, managed the Chevrolet dealership network (including export dealers located in Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan) from its headquarters in Gurgaon, and regional zone offices in Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.

GMIPL also sells parts and services to independent vehicle maintenance providers under the AC Delco brand. GM India's sales declined to 6,079 units in May 2012, while the figure last year same month was 8,329 units.[15]

Emission regulation controversy

In July 2013, GM India announced a recall of 114,000 units of the Tavera. After the recall, an internal probe revealed that GM India were violating Indian testing norms. According to the internal probe, some GM India employees were putting tuned higher emission engines which had already failed tests. 25 employees were fired following the incident and GM India would also have to pay a ₹23 million ($358,000) fine.

Models
2020 Chevrolet Beat

Discontinued

Discontinued

References
  1. "GM increases stake in Indian unit to 93% - The Times of India". The Times of India.
  2. "General Motors India". business.mapsofindia.com. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  3. "General Motors to stop selling cars in India". 28 May 2017. Archived from the original on 18 May 2017.
  4. "General Motors (GM) India – history, plants, car models and more". business.mapsofindia.com.
  5. "GM – Global Operations – India Private Limited".
  6. Keith Bradsher (5 December 2009). "G.M. Expects Asia Deals to Raise $400 Million". New York Times. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  7. "GM ends India operations; Talegaon plant future hangs in the balance". Autocar India. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  8. "China's Great Wall Motors to acquire GM's Talegaon plant". Mint of India.
  9. "China's Great Wall agrees to buy General Motors' India plant". Reuters. 17 January 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  10. "Great Wall Motor to buy Indian plant from GM". Nikkei Asian Review. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  11. Doval, Pankaj (21 December 2020). "China tensions trip General Motors unit sale". The Times of India. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  12. Thakkar, Ketan. "GM deal to sell Talegaon plant to China's Great Wall Motor collapses" – via The Economic Times.
  13. "GM India Confidence". Archived from the original on 2 January 2010. Retrieved 17 January 2010.
  14. "MG Motor inaugurates first India facility in Gujarat, to roll out first product by 2019". Overdrive. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  15. "GM India clocks 27% decline in sales". 1 June 2012.
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