General Motors setting up $200 million engine facility in Maharashtra

Mumbai: General Motors Corporation (GM) will invest $200 million for setting up a new engine plant at Talegaon, near Pune in Maharashtra, as the beleaguered auto giant shifts focus from the slowing US market to the emerging markets.

GM is reported to have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Maharashtra government for setting up the project.

GM already has a vehicle manufacturing facility there, in which it has invested $300-million. The company will add an engine and transmission plant for passenger vehicles alongside the local unit.
 
The engine plant will have an annual capacity of 1.6 lakh engines which could be expanded to three lakh engines per annum, the company said.

The engine facility is expected to be completed by the first quarter of the next year. When completed, the engine and car manufacturing plant together will employ 1,400 people, GM said.

''We cannot remain a global industry leader without a strong presence in the high-growth market of India,'' Karl Slym, president and managing director of General Motors India, said in a statement.

''This will enable us to capture more opportunities in one of the fastest-growing vehicle markets in the world,'' he added.

The Talegao project, which will have an initial capacity of 140,000 vehicles a year, will expanded the company's India capacity to 225,000 vehicles.

GM currently makes six car models, including the Spark minicar and the Optra sedan, at its factory in Gujarat. It also has a design studio in Bangalore.