The Indian subsidiary of US auto giant General Motors Corp will launch a premium sedan Chevrolet Optra later this month, making India the second country in the world after South Korea where this vehicle would be produced locally.
Company officials told PTI that the 1800cc engine-fitted car would be introduced as part of aggressive efforts by the parent company to increase its presence in the domestic automobile market.
The GM officials declined to disclose the price positioning of the new car. It is expected that the vehicle would be positioned against cars like Toyota Corolla and Skoda Octavia in the growing premium sedan segment.
The first Chevrolet Optra was on Friday rolled out of the General Motors India factory at Halol in the presence of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, executive director of GM Asia Pacific Terry Johnson, president and managing director of GM India Aditya Vij and other senior officials.
The Optra will be the second vehicle from the Chevrolet portfolio to be introduced in the country, after the sports-utility-vehicle Forester, which is imported as a completely built unit.
GM India also produces German engineered Opel models like Corsa, Astra, Sail and Swing while the Opel Vectra is imported as a fully built unit.
