India is known for its viscous anti-union policies and violent labor disputes.
General Motors India today said that it will end production at its Halol manufacturing (~225 annual capacity) on 28 April 2017, and consolidates manufacturing at its Talegaon facility. Transition help for employees will include financial counseling, tax advice, as well as information and transition support for employees transferring to the GM Talegaon manufacturing plant (~225,000 annual capacity).
GM continues to work towards an asset-only sale of the Halol site to what will be a newly formed subsidiary of Chinese automaker SAIC. SAIC Motor HK, subsidiary of China’s SAIC Motor Corp, has received the Competition Commission’s consent to acquire assets of General Motors India. Thus the GM’s retreat from major auto markets continues. (General Motors Sells Opel/Vauxhall to PSA Group for €2.2B)
The Indian auto industry closed 2016 on a positive note, said consultancy LMC. Light Vehicle sales climbed by 7% YoY to a record high of 3.35 million units. This volume was divided between 2.81 million private vehicles or PVs (+7% YoY) and 543,000 light commercial vehicles or LCVs (+8%). It was the second consecutive year of solid gain.
Comparing India to other regional markets, the country is forecast to overtake Japan and become Asia’s second largest Light Vehicle sales market in ~2020. Light Vehicle sales are still expected to grow at a CAGR of 8% over the next seven years, to reach about 6.26 million units by 2024.
India Light Vehicle Market by Production – 2016
1 Maruti Suzuki India 1,361,129 7%
2 Hyundai Group 665,017 3%
3 Renault‐Nissan Group 308,952 61%
4 Ford Group 19,601 330% 242,548 41%
5 Mahindra 13,576 ‐28% 225,782 9%
6 Honda Cars India 157,549 ‐26%
7 Toyota Kirloskar India 146,371 ‐8%
8 Volkswagen Group 145,496 16%
9 Tata Motors 124,595 19%
10 General Motors Group 68,910 86%
GM’s current presence in India dates 1996 – but going back to 1928 with Opel and forced out by the government in 1954 – revolves around the Chevrolet brand – Cruze, Sail, Sail Hatchback, Beat, Spark. GM is the 5th largest automobile manufacturing company in India after Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Tata Motors and Mahindra. General Motors India is working with government authorities and labor unions, as well as impacted employees and suppliers, to ensure an “orderly transition.”
“We thank our employees at the Halol plant for their hard work and professionalism,” said. GM India President and Managing Director Kaher Kazem. “We also want to sincerely thank our suppliers and the government of Gujarat for their support of our manufacturing operations at Halol.” (India Honda Workers’ Hunger Strike on Week 2, Indian General Strike by Trade Unions Tomorrow)
