General Motors India on Monday launched its premium sedan Chevrolet Cruze and announced plans to come out with a new small car early next year, alternative fuel variants of its existing models and an electric car by end of 2010.
Chevrolet Cruze comes in two diesel variants and with introductory price of Rs. 10.99 lakh and Rs. 12.45 lakh. The sedan gives a mileage of 18.3 km a litre, claims the company. “With its top-class safety, luxury and comfort features, we expect the Cruze to perform well against established D-segment players, where monthly sales stand at around 4,000 units.
We have already received around 1,200 pre-bookings and hope to sell at least 1,000 units a month,” said company President and Managing Director Karl Slym after launching the new car. Petrol and automatic transmission variants of Cruze will also be launched soon.
“The first six months of the year was quite disappointing because of recession; but India recovered fast compared to global markets. We have also seen good sales in the past few months, particularly September when we clocked our highest sales ever at 7,654 units. We are expecting more growth next year with Cruze, Beat and many models on alternate fuels,” Mr. Slym said.
Talking about sales, Mr. Slym said the company was aiming for a 10 per cent rise in its sales this year, while eyeing for even healthier growth in 2010. It had sold around 66,000 units last year. Its new engine plant will also become operational next year, while it plans to enhance its domestic manufacturing facilities.
