General Motors India today rolled out the first vehicle meant for shipment to Argentina, a Beat. The shipment will leave for Argentina next month. Argentina will be the sixth major export market for General Motors India.
GM India already exports the left hand drive Beat to countries including Mexico, Chile, Peru, Central American and Caribbean Countries (CAC), Uruguay and now Argentina. The Chevrolet Beat recorded the highest growth for any passenger vehicle exported from India and became the sixth most exported passenger vehicle out of India during financial year 2015-16, with a total of 37,082 units.
“In keeping with our commitment to the Make in India program, we are proud to celebrate the roll-out of the first vehicle for Argentina,” said GM India President and Managing Director Kaher Kazem. “The new export market is a testimony to our commitment to provide the highest quality standards to global customers from the Talegaon plant.Whether it’s in India or anywhere else in the world, General Motors follows the highest quality standards in its manufacturing processes providing same high quality vehicles that customers in India and around the world expect and deserve,” Kazem added.
The Beat, badged the Spark outside India, is available in more than 70 markets worldwide and has sold over 1 million units. The Beat is produced at GM India’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Talegaon, Maharashtra, which has a base capacity of 130,000 vehicles. GM India began vehicle exports from India to Chile in September 2014. The Talegaon facility will become a global export hub for GM, with around 30 percent of its annual production planned for markets outside India.
“In 2016, we plan to export over 50,000 vehicles, compared with 21,000 vehicles last calendar year, reinforcing our commitment to the Indian market and our strong local supplier base. This is part of GM’s strategy to make India an export hub for global markets and will help increase capacity utilization at our Talegaon plant. We expect to identify additional export markets going forward,” Kazem said.
