Reference Auto

A diesel car has always been greeted with cheer from India’s car buyers and with General Motors or GM launching a diesel version of its already popular car, the Chevrolet Beat, the only outcome can be a spurt in sales and a surge in earnings for GM, especially in the wake of its intelligent pricing.

A diesel car can find many takers in India as it is a substantially cheaper fuel compared with petrol.

The diesel Beat has been positioned in between the B1 and B2 hatchback segments of the country.

According to GM, the car returns 24 km per litre in the ARAI Indian driving cycle test. The 957 cc, three-cylinder diesel engine offers 57 bhp and about 15.2 kgm of peak torque.

The Beat diesel is believed to be the smallest common-rail diesel engine power plant in a car in the world and can only be pipped by the Tata Nano diesel (which has not rolled out yet).

The new diesel engine has been developed by GM’s technology centre in Bangalore along with the car maker’s powertrain department in Europe.

The Beat diesel powertrain is made and assembled at GM’s plant in Talegaon, near Pune, from where it can produce 1.5 lakh engines every year. Beat diesel’s engine is conceptualised from the Fiat Multijet diesel engine.

Beat currently sells nearly 2,500 cars a month and sales is set to more than double, owing to the Indian customer’s desire for diesel cars.

But GM is targeting sales of 7,500 for the diesel Beat and will need some aggressive ad blitz and may have to offer discounts to achieve its goal.

If GM manages to achieve that figure, the auto giant could end the year with nearly 1.5 lakh sales. Compare this with last year’s overall sales of 1.12 lakh. That’s a growth to reckon with and will spur GM’s earnings substantially.

GM, which is upbeat on the Indian market, has lined up a litany of launches in the next one year from the stable of its Chinese partner.

GM India is a part of a 50:50 joint venture with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation or SAIC of China. The joint venture is planning to launch a slew of LCVs, MPVs, people carriers and cars in the next few years.

One of the utility vehicles slated for launch will be seen at Delhi’s Auto Expo next year.

GM India currently has 250 sales centres and almost the same number of service outlets across the country. Moreover, there are 61 Chevy OK points.

The American auto major plans to ramp up production at its Halol unit in Gujarat from 85,000 to 1.10 lakh cars.

Beat diesel is set for a headstart compared with its peers, especially owing to its judicious pricing which will have a phenomenal impact in a market like India.

With a price of Rs 4.29 lakh, the diesel Beat has a substantial price advantage compared with the Swift diesel, which starts at Rs 4.99 lakh, the Ritz at Rs 4.86 lakh and the Ford Figo, which comes for Rs 4.60 lakh.