TELEGAON, India (AFP) — US auto giant General Motors said it was making a "clear commitment to India" as it opened a second plant Tuesday, nearly tripling its annual output in the country to 225,000 vehicles a year.
GM India, a fully-owned unit of US-based General Motors, said it aimed to boost its Indian market share to 10 percent from four percent by 2010.
It sells its products under the Chevrolet brand in India's fiercely competitive car market.
"The inauguration of our new facility makes a clear statement about our commitment to India," GM's president and chief operating officer Fritz Henderson told reporters.
"As we enter our second century of doing business, there are few markets that will be more important (than India)," he said.
The company said it had invested 300 million dollars in the new factory in Talegaon, on the outskirts of Pune, 180 kilometers (100 miles) southeast of the western city of Mumbai.
Analysts forecast India will remain one of the world's fastest-expanding vehicle markets, particularly in the small-car segment as middle-class incomes climb and people switch from motorbikes to automobiles.
GM currently produces 85,000 cars a year in India at its other plant in the western state of Gujarat.
The new plant will have an annual output of 140,000 vehicles and will boost GM's total annual production by 165 percent to 225,000 vehicles.
GM India last week announced it would invest another 200 million dollars in a nearby facility aimed at producing 300,000 engines a year for domestic and export markets.
General Motors India on Monday reported a 4.4-percent rise in August sales to 6,074 vehicles from the same month last year.
In calendar 2007, GM India reported sales rose 68 percent to 60,032 vehicles from 35,823 a year earlier.
"Our Talegaon plant will enable GM to keep up with growing sales of passenger cars, as more and more consumers move to four wheels from two- and three-wheelers," said GM group vice-president Nick Reilly.
General Motors India has a plant in western state of Gujarat from where it makes the Chevrolet-badged Tavera, Optra, Aveo and Spark.
"General Motors is on track for full-year profit growth in Asia," Reilly told reporters after the new plant's inauguration.
GM has said it hopes to return to profit in 2010 after the company lost 57.5 billion dollars in the past 18 months.
Reilly said a new car for the Indian markets in the 3,000 to 5,000 dollar range was being planned to be rolled out from the new plant in Telegaon.
The Indian auto market is currently dominated by Suzuki and Hyundai.
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