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| Edited By: Sindhu Bhattacharya |Source: DNA |Updated: Mar 17, 2018, 03:29 AM IST
Two months after the India operations of General Motors were converted into a 50:50 joint venture with SAIC, the Chinese are coming.
A team of workers from the Chinese auto firm, led by a “senior” official, is coming down to India. The “senior” would report to the JV’s board of directors in Hong Kong and not to GM India president and managing director Karl Slym.
SAIC representatives would join several functional teams within GM India, including engineering, finance, manufacturing etc, and report to the respective Indian functional heads.
Slym confirmed these developments. “A number of people from SAIC will be coming in…..this number is in single digits. People will come to join functions such as the finance, engineering and manufacturing. A senior SAIC person will also come down but he will not be reporting to me, he will report directly to the board of directors of the JV”.
Dispelling the impression that the senior-most member of the SAIC team would be appointed deputy MD for GM India, Slym said the present reporting structure for the American car giant would remain undisturbed in India.
According to sources, at least three SAIC personnel are taking charge from April 1.
GM India’s ownership earlier rested with GM affiliates in Korea and Australia. Under the new ownership, it plans to enter the high volume light commercial vehicle (LCV) segment and also launch SAIC passenger cars in India. The company is targeting trebling sales volume in three years on an expanded portfolio.
Under the SAIC portfolio, GM India will have access to pickups, people carriers and vans and can compete with Maruti Omni and Tata Ace.
The LCVs will be manufactured at the Hallol facility and production of passenger vehicles (except the Tavera) will be shifted to Talegaon.
The first CV should be in the market by late 2011.
Interestingly, Slym had admitted in the past that a separate sales and distribution network would be established for LCVs, which are to be sold under a new brand name. He had also said that instead of doing CBU (completely built-up unit) import of SAIC cars, GM India would like to take the SAIC architecture and manufacture these cars in India, using the Indian supply base.
On branding strategy, Slym had said: All passenger cars will fall under ‘Chevrolet’ (even if they are from SAIC) brand while all CVs would get the new brand name, which is yet to be decided. He had made it clear that the ‘Wuling’ brand won’t be used for LCVs made in India though it is used for vehicles sold in China.
