Chevrolet celebrates five outstanding years in India

* Introduces yet another industry first "Cashless Ownership Offer"

Chennai: Launched in 2003 under the tagline "For a Special Journey Called Life," General Motors India's flagship brand, Chevrolet, today commenced its fifth anniversary celebration at a ceremony presided over by Mr. Karl Slym, President and Managing Director of GM India, in the presence of Chevrolet Brand Ambassador and movie star Saif Ali Khan.

GM India launched the Chevrolet Indian Revolution in 2006 to mark the largest expansion of its product line-up in its history. It has undertaken several unique marketing initiatives and activities such as the industry-first Chevrolet Promise, which had given consumers peace of mind by guaranteeing a fixed cost of maintenance.

As part of the 5th anniversary celebration, GM India today announced yet another industry first Chevrolet Promise - "The Cashless Ownership Offer" .The Cashless Ownership Offer is a unique zero ownership offer that will take care of labour cost, parts for all services, maintenance and running repairs for a period of 3 years or 45,000 kilometres whichever occurs earlier. This allows the customers to enjoy free motoring for a period of 3 years. The Cashless Ownership Offer is aimed at giving customers complete peace of mind, hassle free ownership experience and improve the used car value of Chevrolet brand of vehicles.

Mr. Slym said, "True to GM's vision, Chevrolet has quickly become amongst the most admired and preferred automotive brands in India. With industry first offers such as The Cashless Ownership Offer, and numerous awards our carlines have won over the year, the brand and the product have exceeded the expectations of our customers in terms of performance, attractiveness and quality, not to mention service and value for money. Looking back at its five outstanding years in India, I am confident Chevrolet will continue to drive GM's success in India and across Asia."

Since its introduction, Chevrolet has been rolling out new models with cutting-edge technology and styling, backed by industry-first service initiatives. They include the Chevrolet Optra in July 2003, the Chevrolet Tavera in May 2004, the Chevrolet Aveo in March 2006, the Chevrolet Optra SRV in July 2006, the Chevrolet Aveo U-VA in December 2006, the Chevrolet Spark in January 2007 and the Chevrolet Captiva in January 2008.

Keeping in mind the diverse needs of vehicle buyers across India, Chevrolet offers products that range in price from Rs.2.89 lakh to Rs.17.74 lakh, and from small cars to premium SUVs (ex-Showroom Delhi). GM India manufactures these products at its state-of-the-art facility in Halol, Gujarat, which has an annual production capacity of 85,000 units.

GM has invested more than US$300 million in its second new world-class vehicle manufacturing facility in India at Talegaon, in the western state of Maharashtra. GM India's second plant will have an initial production capacity of 140,000 vehicles per year, with the capability for significant expansion in line with rising market demand. It is scheduled to begin regular production by the end of this year.

In addition, GM India operates the GM Technical Centre-India in Bangalore, which offers a growing range of engineering, design and R&D services for GM's domestic and global operations. This has driven GM's overall investment in India above Rs.3, 350 crore.

GM India is also rapidly expanding its dealership and service centre network to support the increasing market demand for its products. By the end of this year, it intends to have in place 125 sales points and 135 service outlets across the country, compared to the current tally of 108 sales points and 113 service outlets.

In 2007, GM India experienced record annual growth of 74 percent on sales of 60,032 vehicles. This was well above overall industry growth of about 14 percent. GM India is optimistic of achieving such good level of growth in 2008 as well.

General Motors India is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Motors Corporation, with a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Halol, Gujarat. The company makes the Chevrolet Tavera, Chevrolet Optra, Chevrolet Aveo, Chevrolet Aveo U-VA, Chevrolet Optra SRV and Chevrolet Captiva for the Indian market.