China's SAIC proposes to buy assets of GM India's Halol unit

SAIC HK, a subsidiary of China's SAIC Motor Corporation that has been planning to enter India, has proposed to acquire certain assets of General Motor India's Halol plant in Gujarat.
SAIC HK, through a subsidiary in India which is yet to be incorporated, proposes to acquire certain selected assets of a plant owned by General Motors India in Halol, Gujarat, a filing with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) said.
Confirming the development, a GM India spokesperson told PTI: "Discussions with SAIC on the sale of Halol are progressing well. The two parties will continue to work with Governments to secure the necessary approvals. We will share any progress at the appropriate time."

Mergers and acquisitions beyond a certain threshold requires approval from Competition Commission of India (CCI).
SAIC HK has presence in the international trade of automobile and critical parts. It also deals in investment, technical and service trade, training and consulting.
General Motors India manufactures models like Chevrolet Beat, Cruze and Tavera locally and imports models like Captiva and Chevrolet Trailblazer for the Indian market.

It has two manufacturing plants at Halol and Talegaon in Maharashtra.
Last year, General Motors had announced to put on hold its planned USD 1 billion investment in India. It had also announced to review its future product plan for the country due to "unprecedented regulatory uncertainty" and change in customer preferences.

In 2015, the company had announced a turnaround plan for India entailing fresh investment of USD 1 billion and ceasing production at its Halol plant in Gujarat to consolidate manufacturing operations in Maharashtra.
However, later the company said that it would continue production from its Halol plant in Gujarat until March 2016, even as it continues to review future options, including sale of the facility.
The move to cease operations at the plant would have affected 1,100 employees at the plant that has a total annual manufacturing capacity of 1.1 lakh units.
Giving details about the crash test, Global NCAP said

that the protection offered in Chevrolet Enjoy to the driver's head and chest was poor.
"Passenger's head protection was weak while chest protection was adequate ... The bodyshell was rated as unstable and it was not capable of withstanding any further loadings," it added.
Besides, the child seat in the MPV for the three-year old child was unable to prevent excessive forward movement during the impact, Global NCAP noted.
"The installation instructions on both child seats were insufficient and not permanently attached to the seat. The vehicle was not equipped with a passenger airbag," it added.
On Ford Aspire, the Global NCAP said the protection offered to the driver and passenger's head and neck was good due to the airbag.

"Driver's chest had weak protection and passenger's marginal protection. The car does not have seatbelt pretensioners," it noted.
The bodyshell of the vehicle was rated as unstable and it was not capable of withstanding any further loadings, Global NCAP said.
(REOPEN DCM64)
Later, a Ford India spokesperson said: "With safety being one of the highest priorities in the design of our vehicles, we stay committed to designing and building vehicles that meet or exceed safety requirements for customers in India and across the globe.