GM hopes to resume Tavera production within a month

General Motors India (GM) , which has submitted a fresh engine for testing at the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) for certification, hopes to resume production of its utility vehicle Tavera within a month's time.

The company had stopped production of the Sail sedan and Sail U-VA on June 5 and that of Tavera on June 6 following quality issues with the Sail's 1.3 litre diesel engine and emission issues in the BS-III variant of the Tavera. GM eventually recalled 114,000 units of the Taveras sold since 2005.

A GM India spokesperson said that the fresh engines have been sent to ARAI for certification and the process usually takes four to six weeks. "We are hoping to start production once the process is over and it can be well within a month," he said. A worker at the company's Halol plant near Vadodara too confirmed that production of the Tavera is expected to start within a month or month and a half.

Meanwhile, GM is now facing issues of penalty as the Central ministry of road transport and highways has decided to fine the company for not complying with emission norms. The penalty would be decided as per the provisions in the Motor Vehicles Act.

However, post resumption of production of the Tavera the company is likely to face challenges in the market as consumer confidence would take a beating. "We cannot deny that we would have to face challenges in the market, and we are prepared to take on that," the spokesperson admitted.

Dealer sources claimed that the company planned to have initiatives that would help boost consumer confidence in buying the Tavera.