General Motors India is partnering with Bangalore-based Reva to develop and produce electric vehicles for the Indian market. The initiative by GM is in line with government objectives to reduce fossil fuel dependence. Both th companies have already started the feasibility study of GM’s vehicle platforms to produce electric cars and are expected to announce the details shortly.

General Motors will display six production and concept vehicles at the Auto Expo next month including the soon to be launched Chevrolet Beat. Also on show will be the Volt hybrid and muscle car Camaro. Though none of them will be launched next year, visitors can have a peak of what GM is capable of.

GM chief Bob Lutz had challenged automotive journalists and private owners to find a stock production sports sedan that could outperform the CTS-V. The contest was set for 29th October at the Monticello Motor Club race track in New York and Jaguar accepted the challenge with the XFR. However they backed out last minute blaming the brake cooling system could give up causing a safety issue to the driver. Now that is called being scared. You can read the updates on the complete challenge on twitter here.

“I think it means that the European high-performance sedans are excellent, even superb cars, but quite possibly not ready for racing laps right out of the show-room. The CTS-V is not only quicker, but will, in totally untweaked, stock form, run hot laps at any race track until it runs out of fuel. Transmission oil and diff oil temps are stable, engine oil temp doesn’t go up, brakes get a bit more pedal travel, but don’t fade. The street tires get a tad greasy, but handling and control remain excellent. “May the best car win”! (It wins automatically if the competitors won’t show up!),” Bob Lutz responded after Jaguar backed out.

General Motors India is using a very unethical method of advertising its Aveo UVA. They are targeting the keyword “Fiat Grande Punto Car” in Google searches. This can not only bring down the already down reputation of GM in India but can also cause lots of trouble for the bankrupt car manufacturer. Fiat can sue GM for using their registered product and name in their advertisement campaigns. However the way Fiat India’s web team sleeps, its highly unlikely they will even notice. So GM can make hay while the sunshines all while Fiat snores.

With the North American operations of car major General Motors (GM) filing for bankruptcy, its Indian subsidiary has been busy sending out  messages that all is well. The company has posted some of its key representatives across 35 cities to handle fear or apprehension that the customers may have on the future of GM’s operations here in India. To address concerns related to spare parts, investments, new launches and service networks in the country, the company is launching a new marketing campaign called “there for you, there for India”. You can checkout more here.

“We are not cutting back on investments, or stopping production of any model,” said Ankush Arora, GM India V-P, marketing and sales. In fact the US auto maker is going ahead with its new launches in the country. In a few days, it will launch the LPG variant of the Spark followed by the Chevrolet Cruze in September and the mini car early next year.

Till date, GM India has invested over Rs 5,000 crore across its facilities in Halol, Talegaon and Gurgaon. With the slowdown in vehicle sales, GM India was on a single shift operation in Talegaon. It expects to go back to the double shift as and when demand picks up. The company has started helping dealers stock up spare parts and has dedicated a complete stockyard of spare parts at its Talegaon unit. Spare parts are currently being imported from Thailand, Korea, Japan and Europe. GM’s India operations are independent of North America.

Capitalizing on the popularity of its bestseller mini-car Chevrolet Spark, General Motors had entered into a tie-up with Future Generali (an insurance joint venture between the Future Group of India and Generali Group of Italy) as part of a joint campaign titled, Aaja Meri Gaadi Mein Baith Ja. Retail shoppers at Future Group outlets were given an opportunity to win two Chevrolet Sparks by participating in a contest by filling an entry form and answering two simple questions on the Future Group and General Motors brands.

As part of the initiative, Future Generali also offered free vehicle inspection facility for 4-wheeler owners, thereby providing instant competitive motor insurance solutions catering to the need of the customer. The two winners of the contest were announced today in Mumbai in a lucky draw.

The contest was conducted across 60 cities nationwide in over 200 Future Group retail formats including Big Bazaar, Food Bazaar, Pantaloons, Home Town, E-Zone, Brand Factory, KB Fair price shop & Furniture Bazaar. The Chevrolet Spark was also displayed in select stores and malls across the main cities. This tie-up ensured increased awareness and interest in the MallAssurance™ channel wherein select Insurance options of Life and General Insurance are provided through Future Group retail outlets across the country. Future Group retail outlets across the country, register 2 crore unique footfalls in a year.

The Chevrolet Spark and the Aveo U-VA have won the top awards for quality in the India Automotive Initial Quality Study announced by J.D Power Asia Pacific 2008. The  Chevrolet Spark and the Aveo U-VA were ranked the highest in their respective segments in this JD Power study, which is the industry benchmark for new vehicle quality. The awards were given away at a glittering ceremony held at the Taj Mahal Hotel in New Delhi.

The Chevrolet Spark was ranked first and won the top award in the vast Compact Car Segment, with a score of 148 PP100. This is the second year in a row that the Spark has bagged this prestigious award. Similarly, the Aveo U-VA won the award for the best car in the Premium Compact Segment, with a score of 102 PP100. The Chevrolet Tavera has also been ranked at Second in the MUV/MPV Segment.

Chevrolet which completed its fifth anniversary in India this year, swept the JD Power Awards last year also, when its cars were awarded top honours in their respective segments in JD Power’s IQS and APEAL studies in India.

General Motors is recalling 1.5 million vehicles due to risk of engine fires. There have been no reports of any fires or injuries but GM says it is taking a precautionary measure for consumers. Some of the recalled vehicles are no longer in production. The recall includes the 1998-1999 Oldsmobile Intrigue, the 1997-2003 Pontiac Grand Prix, 1997-2003 Buick Regal, and the 1998-2003 Chevrolet Lumina, Monte Carlo and Impala.

The recall involves vehicles with a 3.8-liter V6 engine. The government says drops of oil could fall into the exhaust system and cause a fire in the engine. I wonder how this recall will help GM, when they are already in the lookout for a bailout by the U.S government.

As we posted earlier about Chevrolet OK, General Motors India has launched the Chevrolet OK Cars program to buy and sell pre-owned cars. The Chevrolet OK network of outlets is being rolled out nationally in a phased manner and will also buy all popular brands of cars in exchange for the sale of new cars from the Chevrolet stable. The pre-owned program from Chevrolet has since become operational in 9 outlets across 6 cities, with three outlets in Delhi and NCR, two outlets in Mumbai and one each in Pune, Hyderabad, Jalandhar and Ludhiana. The Chevrolet OK program will expand to 30 country-wide outlets by this year-end.

“With Chevrolet-OK Cars, GM India plans to set up a country-wide network of branded, pre-owned car sales outlets to offer our valued customers an experience very similar to buying a new car. The program will offer our customers mechanically and physically sound pre-owned cars, which will first be certified by highly qualified GM India-trained engineers after passing through a system of stringent checks and refurbishment,” P. Balendran, Vice President, GM India, said.

In a sector that is largely unorganized and very often unreliable, the Chevrolet OK Cars program will assure customers safety and surety of purchase and complete transparency of operations. The vehicles sold through these outlets will ensure very high mechanical and appearance standards set by GM India.

The cars offered through CHEVROLET OK, outlets will go through a strict, 110-point checklist by GM India trained engineers, a thorough vehicle reconditioning program, besides a detailed history check. Chevrolet OK Cars will be sold with a 1-year/15,000 km limited warranty, along with three labour-free services for Chevrolet cars.

The program will also provide an opportunity for additional revenue to GM India’s dealers across the nation and ensure the quality of pre-owned cars available to the customer. General Motors India, is in the process of appointing more dealers and authorized service outlets in urban and semi-urban cities to widen its network and reach out to its valued customers across the nation. GM India’s rapidly growing network of Chevrolet dealerships and service centres include 170 authorized sales points and 177 service outlets, while more are in the pipeline to support the increasing market demand for its products.

General Motors Corp has indefinitely postponed offering a diesel engine version of its light-duty pickup trucks in 2010, citing the poor economic climate. GM had previously said a Duramax 4.5L V-8 diesel engine would be offered in the automaker’s Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra trucks next year.

GM is seeking up to $30 billion in US government aid to ride out a deep downturn in the US auto market. The automaker is in a severe cost-cutting mode and has put a number of assets on sale to generate cash.