New Cars Come to India from US Producers

(India/Rubber Asia) There has been a flurry of new car launches in the Indian market thanks to the apparent growth of Indian consumer purchasing power. General Motors, the world’s largest car maker for example, has even come out with a new strategy specific to the Indian market, the main component of which is to launch two new cars every year in the country between 2006 and 2008, local media sources report.

Mr Rajiv Chaba, president of GM India, has said it would be a “mix of local production/assembly for volume cars and CBU imports in the case of some lifestyle products”.

Meanwhile, Ford is all set to launch a ‘D’ category global car. The vehicle has been designed in Australia and will be constructed in India before it is marketed elsewhere in the world, Mr Vinay Piparsania, vice-president (sales) of Ford India, told local media. Ford’s plant near Chennai will become the export hub for the new model, “which is a totally new car in Ford’s stable worldwide”.