GM lines up Rs 1,300 cr for Pune plant

General Motors, the world's largest car-maker, has finally decided to produce its small car "" Chevrolet Spark "" at Talegaon, near Pune, in Maharashtra. The company will invest Rs 1,300 crore inr setting up a unit to manufacture the vehicle.

The plant, with an initial capacity to make 45,000 cars, will be ready for production by 2009. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) to this effect was signed between the company and the Maharashtra government here today.

Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil, and Industry Minister Ashok Chavan were present on the occasion.

The plant will be spread over 300 acres, and will generate direct and indirect employment for 3,000 people, said sources in the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC).

Chevrolet Spark will have a 1,000-cc petrol engine. Till the new plant is ready, Spark will be rolled out from the Halol facility in Gujarat, beginning March.

The early introduction of the company's small car in the market is being done keeping in mind the excise duty cut for small cars announced by the Union government in this year's Budget.

GM will step up the production capacity at Halol to 85,000 units per annum by the end of the year. At present, the facility produces 50,000 units. The additional capacity of 35,000 units will be utilised for the small car.

Until recently, GM was eyeing the Surajpur plant of the now-defunct Korean car-maker, Daewoo India. However, prolonged negotiations with the company's key lenders on the issue of taking over the liabilities of Daewoo in India did not fructify in favour of the American car major.