GM Rolls Out Indian-Made Gasoline Engine

General Motors has just took the wraps off what it calls Smartech, a gasoline engine produced exclusively by its Indian operations and that will be installed in several models sold on the local market. The engine will be firstly installed on the Chevrolet Beat small car from February 1, while a diesel engine for the same model is likely to debut in a few weeks, according to Karl Slym, president and managing director of GM India.

The 1.2-liter engine is manufactured by the engine plant in Talegaon, in the western state of Maharashtr where General Motors has invested more than $230 million.

"India is a key market for General Motors," said Tim Lee, GM's president for international operations. "We are focusing on leveraging our unmatched global resources, as well as our growing local capabilities to develop vehicles and powertrains in India, for India. India and the rest of emerging markets, are very important to us. The business model after the IPO [initial public offering] is to focus on and leverage on these growth markets," said Lee.

Slym on the other hand mentioned that General Motors plans to launch six new vehicles in India in the next two years, four of which will be passenger cars, while the other two will be commercial units. GM India aims to deliver a total of 300,000 vehicles in India in 2013. At this time, GM builds eight Chevrolet models in India.

"We have a portfolio planned for the next 5 years which focuses on the growth market of India," he said.