General Motors cars to get expensive by January 2011
General Motor India is reporting a price hike early next year. The car creator would soon be investing $500 million in its expansion plans. There are plans to expand operations and launch new vehicles. The car manufacturer is also looking to ramp up dealership interact all over the country by next year. Speaking on the price hike, GM (India) Vice-President (Corporate Affairs) P Balendran said "We are reviewing the cost pressure, but there will be an increase in prices across models from the first week of January 2011. We typically increase prices between 1.5% and 3% of cars like Chevrolet Spark, Aveo, Captiva, Tavera, UV-A, Cruze and Optra ." "He added, "There is a huge input cost pressure. Some component prices have increased between 5 and 15%."
Speaking on the investment plans, Chevrolet India President and Managing Director Karl Slym said, "We have invested over $1 billion so far and we plan to invest another $500 million for our future expansion." The last price revision was done in June-July, after which GM had earmarked $500 million investment in the next two years to increase operations. Launching new vehicles and ramping up dealership network all over the country was also a part of the agenda. General Motors plans to launch 6 new vehicles in India over the next 24 months. The vehicles include van, hatchback, small car and the SUV models.