GM Sees Emerging India a Life-Saving Market

Still fighting with bankruptcy and with the economic chaos in the United States and turning cost-cutting measures into a common thing, General Motors is now aiming its strategies at emerging markets that could help it get back in business – at least in non-US regions. China is probably the main example in this matter but it seems like the American manufacturer is also pinning its hopes on India, a country that seems to adopt GM’s products pretty well.

According to a report by drive.com.au, GM’s Indian operations are not affected by the company’s domestic bankruptcy filing and even more, the automaker is optimistic when it comes to future sales.

"It's business as usual," said GM India president Karl Slym. "We're here for the long haul. While the home US market is certainly the most important, China is equally important ... India is also key as opportunities here are similar," he said.

But what would be the reason? you might ask. Well, Slym explained that the US is already saturated when it comes to passenger cars, while China and India are a bit “hungrier”, thus the appetite for this type of vehicles.

"In America there are about 850 cars per 1,000 people, in India there are seven per 1,000 and in China there are 17 per 1,000. It's very clear there's a high car saturation level in the US while in India and China, it's not just a replacement market, there are new first-time buyers every day," he said.

And to give you an idea, General Motors, which officially launched the Chevrolet brand in India in 2003, is the fifth automaker of the country, with 65,702 cars sold last year and 9 percent up from the previous year. Maruti is by far the leader in India with approximately 800,000 vehicles sold last year.