In recent news it has been decided by the General Motors India Pvt. Ltd that it will spend approximately $250 million to make bigger its industrial unit at Halol, 46km from Vadodara in Gujarat state, to create five models it campaigns to bring in the nation.

According to president and managing director Karl Slym, they wish to commence production of five fresh vehicles by the conclusion of next year. The latest vehicles are selected from the collection of the Chinese partner SAIC Motor Corp. Ltd and comprises of three passenger cars and two light commercial vehicles.

One of the leading players in the Indian automobile circuit, General Motors India has recently bagged the prestigious National Safety Award in the Motor Vehicles category. It is to be mentioned here that the company won this accolade two years in a row and the Halol unit of the company has been selected under the best safety systems category.

It may be noted here that the award in the country is presented by the Directorate General of the Factory Advice Service & Labour Institute.

While the company has recently said that its plan is to launch the diesel variant of its hatchback Beat very soon in the Indian market, but it has been learned that the company will be looking at producing the engine for the model by November from its Talegaon unit.

It is to be mentioned here that General Motors India announced a few days back that their engine plant at Talegaon will become operational by November this year. There is no denying the fact that the company had invested big money on this plant & is confident that it will further strengthen their foothold in the Indian Market.

Under a major event that happened in the global automobile industry, US auto giant General Motors and China's Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp signed a deal under which the two giants will be developing technology jointly.

While the agreement is for the technology of engines and transmissions, it may be noted here that the, chairman of china's leading automaker by sales, SAIC Motor, Hu Maoyuan said that the deal is one the biggest milestones that would see two companies share key intellectual property.

It has been just a matter of few months that General Motors launched the hatchback Beat in the Indian market but the overwhelming response of the product has persuaded the company to launch the diesel variant of the product as well.

General Motors India Vice-President P Balendran said that the company is planning to launch the diesel variant of the Beat very soon in the Indian market. It is to be mentioned here that the company as of date produces the Captiva, Optra, Cruze, Aveo, Aveo U-VA, Spark, Beat and Tavera in the country from its manufacturing facilities in Halol in Gujarat and in Talegaon Maharashtra.

As per a high ranking official of the General Motors India, the automaker is going to come out with the BS IV version of Tavera in India by 2011.

Talking to media, General Motors India Managing Director Karl Slym said that they have concluded the agreement with International Cars and Motors Ltd (ICML) and because of this they will soon be able to roll out the BS IV version.

It has been learned from the sources that the Indian subsidiary of the American auto major, General Motors is planning to source engines from the Sonalika Group for its multi-purpose vehicle Tavera.

While the move comes in the wake of meeting the improved emission norms in the country, it is believed that a formal announcement regarding the sourcing of Bharat Stage IV compliant engines from Sonalika is likely to be done within this week.

As the company has been able to gain steady ground in the Indian market, General Motors India has registered an impressive growth of 45% in sales in July 2010 as compared to the corresponding period last year.

It is to be mentioned here that out of the total sales reported by the company, the July 2010 sales comprised 2244 units of the Chevrolet Spark, 1722 units of Chevrolet Beat, 1546 units of the Chevrolet Tavera, 639 units of the Chevrolet Cruze, 375 Units of Chevrolet Aveo, 240 units of Chevrolet Aveo U-VA, 225 units of the Chevrolet Captiva and 133 units of Chevrolet Optra.

In a recent move to expand its presence in the Indian market, GM India has announced that the company has raised a Rs 1,000 crore loan from a consortium of Indian banks to part-fund a USD 250 million (nearly Rs 1,160 crore) investment. It is believed that the moment will go into its plans of launching five vehicles from the stable of its Chinese partner, SAIC, by 2012.

The General Motors India President and Managing Director Karl Slym said that the company will be launching five vehicles from SAIC in India.

With a view to meet the rising demand in the Indian market, the Indian subsidiary of the Detroit-based auto major, General Motors has recently said that the company will be ramping up its production to ensure that it is gaining a steady market share in the Indian market.

General Motors India, Vice-President, P Balendran recently said in order to meet the rising demand for its products in the Indian market, it has recently started a second shift at the Talegon and Halol plants. It is to be mentioned here that the production capacity has been enhanced from 6,000 to 12,000 units per month.

While the Detroit giant has kept the price of Volt as a secret for a very long time, the American auto major has recently revealed the price of the model that will cost for 40 miles on battery power without using gasoline, at $41,000 before a $7,500 federal tax credit.

It has been three years since GM unveiled its concept of Volt but it is to be mentioned here that the price hinted by the executives is higher than the starting price of $32,780 for the Nissan Leaf, a fully electric car that goes on sale in December.

Moreover, the price of Toyota Prius, the popular hybrid car, is $23,560 to $35,000, depending upon options.

The American made machines were mainly considered as fuel guzzling ones for many years before GM & Ford realized the potential of the Indian small cars market.

In fact, both the players on track to achieve record sales this year on the back of products like Beat by GM and Figo by Ford. While GM launched Beat in December last year, Ford followed it up with the launch of Figo in March this year.

With a view to keep up with its commitment to the Indian market, GM India has recently showcased its entire portfolio of products at the International Auto Show in Hyderabad at Hyderabad International Convention Centre from July 22 - 25, 2010.

Be it the Chevrolet Captiva, Spark or the Beat, all the offerings from the GM portfolio will be on display at this much-awaited motor show. P Balendran, Vice-President, General Motors India said that the Hyderabad motor show has provided the company with an attractive opportunity to get more close to its consumers and gain insights about the buying behavior.

The day GM India announced its partnership with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC), analysts were very much sure of the fact that the American auto major is planning to take its India operations to a new level.

In fact, the company has recently announced that it will be launching two LCVs and three passenger vehicles from the SAIC stable.

While the products will be labeled under the Chevrolet brand, the MD of the India operations, Karl Slym recently pointed out the fact that the Talegaon plant will produce the upcoming cars and the CVs are planned to be produced from Halol plant.

It would skip the two-week summer layover at nine of its 11 factories to decrease waiting time for customers, U. S. automaker General Motors Co. has said.

The New York Times reported on Friday that the company said it was considering using temporary help during the two-week stretch that has historically been a period of refitting plants to begin assembling the next year's models.

"Our manufacturing teams are taking creative approaches to increase production and reduce the wait times for our dealers and customers," president of GM North America said in a statement.

It would withdraw its requests for $2.2 billion in aid to restructure its European operations, Automotive giant General Motors Co. said on Wednesday.

The Detroit Free Press has reported that Britain and Spain were willing to support GM, but Germany turned down the company's request for $1.2 billion in loan guarantees last week.

Finance Minister Rainer Bruederle, at the time, said, "I am convinced that GM has sufficient funds."

Sources have told The New York Times that JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley are poised to underwrite U. S. automaker General Motor's initial public offering.

GM's IPO would not take place until at least October, and that it had hired investment bank Lazard to advise the government on the sale, expected to be one of the largest share issues in recent years, the Treasury Department said this week.

Germany has rejected an aid request from General Motors (GM) for the European division carmaker Opel. Opel is the owner of Vauxhall unit. UK has requested for loan of more than 1 billion Euros from Germany for its reformation.

General Motors is holding the guarantee to help the firm to increase its money to restructure Opel.

Some of the German politicians were not happy about GM asking for help as it is getting loans from the US government for its improvement.

New York, June 9 - General Motors announced a recall of 1.5 million vehicles Tuesday over a possible fire danger posed by the wind shield wiper fluid heating system.

More than a dozen models from 2006 to 2009 are impacted by the recall, including the Buick Lucerne, several Cadillac models and the Hummer H2 SUV.

The carmaker said technicians would remove the heater and redirect the fluid system. Owners will also receive 100 dollars to compensate them because the feature will be disabled, GM said.

General Motors India, the Indian subsidiary of the Detroit automotive giant GM celebrated the World Environment Day in the Indian market by introducing a line-up of several activities planned across its centres in the domestic circuit.

Normally, the American cars are considered to be the ones that consume more fuel as compared to Japanese which stand for reliability and trust or the German cars which signify high technology and luxury.