Reference Auto

Chevrolet Beat had given a lease of life to General Motors India and, for instance, logged sales of 2,144 cars in May but despite a slowdown in the auto market (the growth being the slowest in two years) General Motors or GM, owner of the Chevrolet brand, is upbeat on India, unveiling the electric vehicle or EV of the Beat in the country.

Propelled by a 300 cell lithium-ion battery with energy capacity of nearly 20 kWh, the Beat can be powered by the 270-kg battery for nearly 130 km under normal driving conditions.

The liquid cool battery can operate in temperatures that range from minus 20 degree Celsius to 45 degree Celsius. The charge time is around eight hours with a 240 V outlet.

Moreover, the automaker is coming out with a diesel variant of the Beat next month. “The car will offer a mileage of a whopping 24 km for a litre,” President and managing director of GM India Karl Slym averred.

Slym sounded upbeat on India saying, “We’ll grow at double the market rate. If the market grows at 12 per cent, then our sales will surge 24 per cent from 110,000 cars that we sold last year.”

In India, car buffs will have to wait a while before getting their hands on the electric Beat as the car will take some time to come to India.

Slym added, “Only tax incentives will not allow us to bring the Beat electric variant to India. We also need suitable infrastructure upgradation such as power supply, car parking and consumer education.”

Speculation is rife that the technology used to develop the Reva is similar to what the Beat uses. But Slym said, “This mini car is very different from what we were developing with Reva. This project was going on simultaneously.”

GM sought feedback on the Beat electric and potential buyers are likely to give thumbs up as the cost of fuel — both petrol and diesel — has hit the roof and the electric Beat could slowly become a viable option.

Sumit Sawhney, vice-president (sales and marketing), GM India, echoed Slym’s view saying, “We are not looking at an immediate launch as we do not have the appropriate infrastructure for EVs in India.”

An upbeat GM is also planning a slew of roll outs in the country. It said it will launch five products and 14 variants in India in the next one and half years, all of which will be under the Chevrolet brand, including two light commercial vehicles.

These vehicles are likely to be available in a range of price points.

GM had earlier planned a car that would have competed with the Nano in India but scrapped the project as the company felt it wasn’t viable.

“It (the small car) was on our radar when the Rs 1 lakh Nano rolled out. We have reached a decision where we now think that it is not right for us to go on with the plan,” Slym said.

The small car would have been even cheaper than the American giant’s compact car, the Spark.

“We did have some kind of a plan, but we don’t have it any longer. We do not want to get into the segment any more,” he said.

GM has infused nearly $1 billion in India and sells around 9,000 cars every month. Its production capacity is 140,000 cars at the Talegaon plant and it is 85,000 cars at Halol.

If GM manages to roll out the Chevrolet Beat electric vehicle in India early, that is in the next six months, it could find many potential car buyers flocking for its Beat EV and this would ramp up earnings of the American car major as petrol and diesel prices have almost hit the roof, prompting potential buyers to look for EVs as an alternative.