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General Motors CEO Mary Barra Visits India

Highlights importance of India and other emerging markets to global strategy

Sep 12, 2014   09:15 IST 
New Delhi, Delhi, India

Mary Barra made her first visit to India as chief executive officer of General Motors Co. from Sept. 9-11.

During stops in Mumbai and Pune, Barra met with political leadership, spoke with business leaders, held discussions with the company’s leading suppliers and spoke with employees at GM India’s largest manufacturing facility.

She was joined by Tim Solso, non-executive chairman of the GM Board of Directors; GM Executive Vice President and President, GM International, Stefan Jacoby; and GM India President and Managing Director, Arvind Saxena.

India represents a great opportunity for General Motors,” said Barra. “With a relatively small vehicle population and rapidly growing middle class, India is expected to become one of the world’s three largest markets by 2020. GM cannot remain a global leader without making a serious commitment to expanding our presence in India and other key emerging markets.”

GM has invested about $1 billion in India to date. It’s Talegaon and Halol production facilities have a combined manufacturing capacity of over 280,000 vehicles per year. The GM Technical Center-India is carrying out engineering projects for GM on a local and global basis. GM India’s growing lineup of Chevrolet models is sold through the company’s nationwide dealer network.

On Sept. 10, Barra visited GM India’s Talegaon manufacturing facility in Pune. She congratulated employees on their recent achievements. In addition, she participated in the celebration of the production of the first Chevrolet vehicle for export at the plant. Vehicles will initially be exported to Chile starting later this year.

Barra also had the opportunity to sit down with several of the company’s top suppliers on Sept. 10 in Pune. She thanked them for their support of GM India and reminded them that they are important members of the GM family.

Barra encouraged them to remain focused on driving excellence across their operations. She said that GM will continue to leverage its domestic suppliers as it increases the localization of its products manufactured in India.

On the final day of her visit, Sept. 11, Barra met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State for Finance, Commerce & Industry. She congratulated Modi on his recent election victory and thanked him for his support of the growth of GM India’s Halol plant when he was chief minister of Gujarat.

She reiterated GM’s commitment to work with the Indian government to contribute to the development of an automotive industry that is globally competitive.

On Sept. 12, Jacoby will address the annual convention of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) in New Delhi. He will discuss the positive economic impact of the automotive industry and its importance for markets such as India.

GM remains open to the long-term prospects for India and its automotive industry,” said Jacoby. “However, we are going in with our eyes wide open to ensure that our investment is good for India and good for General Motors.”

General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM, TSX: GMM) and its partners produce vehicles in 30 countries, and the company has leadership positions in the world's largest and fastest-growing automotive markets. GM, its subsidiaries and joint venture entities sell vehicles under the Chevrolet, Cadillac, Baojun, Buick, GMC, Holden, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling brands. More information on the company and its subsidiaries, including OnStar, a global leader in vehicle safety, security and information services, can be found at http://www.gm.com

About Chevrolet:

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world's largest car brands, doing business in more than 140 countries and selling more than 4.9 million cars and trucks a year. The Chevrolet brand was introduced in India in 2003 and is now one of the fastest-growing automotive nameplates in the country. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature spirited performance, expressive design and high quality. The Chevrolet portfolio in India includes the Spark, Beat, Chevrolet SAIL, SAIL U-VA, Cruze, Tavera, Chevrolet Enjoy and Captiva. More information regarding Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.co.in.

Media Contacts: GM India

Saahil Anant

E-mail: saahil.anant@gm.com

Ph: 0124-3080285

 

Sudha Chandran

E-mail: sudha.chandran@gm.com

Ph: 0124-3080112


 
 
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