According to sources of Autocar India, the Indian subsidiary of American car maker giant General Motors India has asked its dealers to stop selling the diesel variants of both the Sail sedan and the Sail hatchback. This is owing to a potential fault with the 1.3-litre diesel engine that powers both of these cars. We won’t be too surprised if this fault results into a voluntary recall of all diesel models of the Sail saloon and Sail hatchback that have been sold so far.
As per the Voluntary Recall Policy that was adopted by the auto industry of our country in July last year, auto manufacturers have to inform the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), Govt. of India and its customers about any potential fault in its car that warrants a recall.
It isn’t yet for sure if GM India will soon launch a recall drive but P Balendran, vice president, GM India, has said that the manufacturer will soon complete the investigation and act accordingly. He has been quoted as saying, “We will come back to you with an update after thorough investigation in the coming days.”
Meanwhile, a Chevrolet Sail sedan test mule was spotted testing on Mumbai-Pune expressway by our teammate Deepak Dongre. He says that that he saw black smoke emitting from the tail pipe, which means that the test mule was that of a diesel variant. It is hence highly likely that the manufacturer could be testing the changes it has made to the car. We await GM India’s official statement on this before further speculating about the “improved” car.