GM plans to launch 3 new cars in '06

General Motors (GM) will launch three new cars in India in the first half of 2006. The cars are going to be an entry level notchback, a premium hatchback and a sports version of Optra.

The entry-level notchback will be smaller than the Chevrolet Optra. The car would be priced in the range of Rs 6.5 lakh to Rs 7.5 lakh and compete with Ford Fiesta and Honda City, said Rajeev Chaba, president and managing director, General Motors India.

The premium hatchback will be priced at Rs 4.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh and is expected to rival around Hyundai Getz and Maruti Suzuki Swift, he said.

Sporty Optra is a sports back version of Optra and will be priced at a premium to Optra.

"General Motors is quite bullish over car market growth in the country and will follow aggressive product launches over the next several years. By 2010, the company has plans to launch 10 new cars in the country," Chaba said.

Global car makers are quite bullish on India. A latest white paper released by Keystone India titled "The world's top auto markets by 2010" predicts that by 2030 India's auto market will almost match the US in size.

GM is equally committed to its small car plans, said Chaba. "We have deserted our plans of bidding for the Daewoo assets. In the next few months, the company is expected to layout the strategy in the small car segment," he said. More than 70 per cent of the country's total car market is cornered by small cars.