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-   -   Has chevrolet india jumped the gun a bit too soon? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/23296-has-chevrolet-india-jumped-gun-bit-too-soon.html)

Chevrolet India can only produce a maximum of 2000 cars[Chevrolet Spark],a month until their new plant in pune comes up[expected by mid 2008].So for a year that leaves makes 24,000 cars sold even if there is a lot of demand for the car[the Halol plant is being expanded to produce 85,000 vehicles annually from the present 65,000].

So most naturally people would think that the spark has not done well even if there is great demand for.Wonder if Gm have just hurried on their small car plan without giving any thought about the actual impact it could make.Not only the spark but other products of Chevrolet India could be hit due to the supply constraints.

They plan to launch the Optra diesel too pretty soon don't they,we are talking about serious supply constraints with regards to their Halol facility.

Just makes me wonder though if GM India would have been better of concentrating on the optra diesel with higher profit margins for the time being as compared to the spark,they could have launched the spark a little later while concentrating on the U-VA for the time being with regards to their small car plans.GM seems to be in a hurry with regards to product launches and are not really concentrating on whether one particular model is doing well or not.

I think that is why they are following sequential Launch, First in the North and the west...Test the demand and then accordingly turn the factory in full production mode.

Yes, it seems that GM hurrying into launches, without realising the fact that the any bad move will hurt them in longer run.

The visibilty of the Aveo is very less on the roads. GM should be concentrating in gaining market share for the exsiting car rather than launching one car after another.

I think they wont have made it without planning their strategy for this.... its just to warm up the segment and catch attention before its too late.....they are intelligent to sense this ..isnt it..

They seriously need to catch the attention of the public..cause looking at the U-va sales..doesnt look like many are interested.

Any manufacturer looking to establish itself as a mainstream choice in India clearly needs to have a strong presence in the small car segment. Not just for volumes/market-share but also consumer mindspace.

And its not a taken that higher segment cars necessarily are more profitable than smaller cars - as a measure of return on ROIs, by the manufacturer.

The U-va story is different, its not being contrained by lack of production capability but that there is hardly anything interesting in that thing.

However, the Spark would actually require far greater volumes as it is really a good car based on past experiences with the Matiz and is surefire to kick-on, if marketed/supported right.

I have a feeling, GM does not seem to have the momentum with them. To support what i am trying to say with an example, the Ikon sold well, and the Fiesta has been recieved positively. But when there is a manufacturer whos volumes are low, a new buyer might be apprehensive to buy a car from the manufacturer, unless of course there is something extremely attractive about the car(and there is no 'strikingly' attractive feature in the Aveo). Another example, a new buyer would be apprehensive to buy a car from the Fiat stable. GM should get more aggresive with their existing products. The aveo isn't a bad product, and should do better. Just getting a few actors to endorse the car isn't convincing enough a factor to buy it!
And to become more profitable, it isn't completely neccessary to keep adding new car after new car, its more neccessary to ensure each car hits the right note with the buyers. Toyota showed that with the qualis, though its difficult to compare anybody else with them. To beat the competition now, GM's products should be a step ahead to kick-start themselves out of the rut.

in terms of pure economics ... there is always a risk of the demand 'levelling off' at 2000 odd (if the demand is initially high) So when production capacity is increased , sales(initially) may continue to hover close to 2000 , thus not selling as much as the potential .
We may critisize GM .... but i'm sure it makes sense to the Co. someway or the other , atleast economically , if not the best stratagy.

Are you sure about these numbers? Because if their current capacity is 65000 and the Spark will be allocated 24000....whats taking up the rest of the 41000 units? Surely not the Tavera or the Optra? Or are?

If the numbers are true, launching the Spark only allows them to maximise the plant capacity. But it is surprising that they wouldnt have planned since the Spark was scheduled to arrive much sooner (and therefore give them enough breathing time to plan production).

As some have already mentioned, capacity notwithstanding, the Spark launch gives them:

- Presence in the all too crucial entry-hatch market.

- Spread of brand awareness.

- A short-training lesson to their dealerships who, until now, have not been used to handling volumes.

- Maximum utilisation of the current plant.

- Time advantage. Sooner in the segment versus potential future competitors.

Also, they would have already produced a "couple" for the initial demand. The new plant is only about a year away so I dont think they are in a bad position. That would also be a good time to get the Spark diesel and say hello to serious volumes.

True. The UV-A seriously needs a price rethink.

well u cant blame the company for trying. introducing more models just strengthens their commitment to the Indian market. with the launch of Spark, Chevy has its presence in all the volume segments, B, B+, C, C+, and C+ Diesel with the upcoming Optra CDX.
one more case could be that GM is just testing the market. Which models are better selling so that they can allocate in that order in their new plant which is nearing completion.

As everyone already mentioned, Aveo U-VA seems to be a good product. If they could just come out with some sensible Ad campaigns. I dont understand who are they targetting with those advts.
OT: By the way, what is the OTR price of U-VA.