GM defers India investment

Published July 26, 2016

NEW DELHI: General Motors is re-evaluating its planned $1 billion investment in India and has put on hold moves to bring a new car platform to the country, company officials said.

The strategy rethink comes after GM’s India sales fell by nearly 40 per cent in the year to March 30, with its share of the domestic passenger vehicle market now below 1 percent.

Sagging sales and a regulatory crackdown on diesel-powered vehicles are now forcing GM to redraw revise its plans.

The US automaker had previously committed to investing $1bn in India to double its market share to 3.6pc by 2020 and make the country a global export hub.

GM’s looming change in its India strategy follows a series of reviews and restructurings undertaken across Asia Pacific starting in 2013 under Stefan Jacoby, vice president, GM International (GMI), which oversees markets beyond the Americas, Europe and China.

In India, GM posted a net loss of $154m in the year to March 30, adding to losses made in the preceding three financial years, according to government data.

GM is not the only foreign company battling to crack an Indian car market forecast to be the world’s third largest by 2020. Volkswagen, Nissan and others have also struggled to raise market share significantly.

Published in Dawn, July 26th, 2016

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