General Motors Closes Halol Plant – Can the Brand Sustain in India with New Launches?

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General Motors closes Halol Plant after 21 years and will now consolidate all its operations at Talegaon facility in Pune

American auto major General Motors has shut down its Halol plant after 21 years of operation at the Gujarat facility. Closure of the Halol plant certainly ends a chapter in Indian automobile history and with this facility closed, GM India will consolidate all its operations at the Talegaon plant in Pune. But, the question looming large is can General Motors sustain in India?

Despite being one of the major automakers in the world and being present in the domestic market for quite long time, GM owned Chevrolet couldn’t write a consistently successful business history as other brands like Maruti Suzuki or Hyundai. The company gave the first clue of closing its Halol plant two years ago, when GM CEO Mary Barra said the auto brand wants to consolidate its manufacturing process in a single location in India.

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The official statement also said that this step will support the long term sustainability of the company’s business in a challenging market like India. In January this year, GM decided to hold on fresh investment for new products in the Indian market. It decided to focus on sustainable profitability in the country. On the contrary, the new Beat is expected to be launched in the country in May this year.

GM India aims to increase the production capacity of the vehicles to 220,000 units by 2025 from current 130,000 units. Also, the company plans to make Talegaon plant its global export hub, with over 30% of annual production planned for shipping. But, as the competition in the market is rising rapidly with the existing manufacturers bringing new models and several new brands entering the space, it will become a very tough task for GM if it doesn’t become aggressive and bring more new models here.

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Also read: Chevrolet to Quit Sales Operations in India?

Also, with a large chunk of its annual production meant for shipping to overseas markets, the company seems not to be aiming volume sales in the country. This can affect its sales as brands like Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Toyota are targeting to increase sales volume locally. How can GM come out of its dwindling sales and become a strong player once again? Have your say below!