GM plans to triple capacity to 40,000 units a year

General Motors has initiated steps to more than triple its existing production capacity to 40,000 units a year from the existing 12,000 units a year.

The company, which had invested over Rs 700 crore (Rs 7 billion) in India till 2002-end, has said it will invest Rs 1,380 crore (Rs 13.8 billion) by end of 2003.

Aditya Vij, president & general manager (India), General Motors India said, "We have already invested about Rs 1,200 crore (Rs 12 billion) till date and will invest about Rs 180 crore (Rs 1.8 billion) more by the end of this year."

Vinay Dixit, vice-president (marketing), said the company expects to sell around 16,000 cars this year.

This includes 15,000 cars from the Corsa family -- the mid-sized Corsa, Corsa Swing station wagon and Corsa Sail compact hatchback, which was launched in Mumbai on Monday.

"To achieve our target of around 16,000 cars this year, we will have to operate at over 100 per cent capacity utilisation this year. Our installed capacity will be about 40,000 cars by next year," Dixit said.

The Corsa Sail is the last model from the Corsa family to be launched in India. While the Corsa family also includes a pick-up truck, it is unlikely to be launched in India, Dixit said.

General Motors also has plans to launch diesel options for its Corsa range. However, company executives declined to say when they might be launched.

The Corsa Sail is General Motors' third launch in India this year, following the launch of the Opel Vectra and the Subaru Forrester, launched earlier under the Chevrolet brand name.

However, the company is planning to launch more vehicles in the remaining part of this year. The options before the company include re-named versions of Daewoo's entry-level offering Matiz and premium C segment car Nubira, in addition to Isuzu Motors' Panther multi-utility vehicle.