GM (General Motors) announced to make electric cars for the Indian market on September 24, 2009 manufactured by the Reva Indian car company, specializing in this segment, in order to market them in China.
The executive director of GM's arm in India, Karl Slym, explained that this initiative is taken "in line with the government targets to reduce dependence on fossil fuels". He also said that, "we will work closely with the Indian central government and regional authorities in India to develop infrastructure for electric vehicles and provide financial benefits to the consumers".
President of General Motor's international operations, Nick Reilly described electric cars as "an area of growth in the global auto industry" and hoped that cooperation with General Motors Reva will serve to "accelerate their progress and changing needs in many parts of the world".
For Reilly, these cars represent "the best long term solution to provide sustainable private transport".
Reva Company launched its first electric car model in 2001.
GM's announcement comes just a day after Ford said that in early 2010, we will launch first small utility car to the Indian market, officially named as Ford Figo. Ford also said that our new Figo will target the Indian market.
Both initiatives focus on the segment of small commercial vehicles. Auto companies are in agreement with these initiatives because the Indian car market has a large number of users willing to make a payment for having a car, but the cost should not be very high.
The most notable example of these types of initiatives of vehicles in this segment is the Tata Nano, which also known as the "world's cheapest car" (with low-end model starting from rupees 1 lakh.
The Indian automobile industry has been among the hardest hit by the international financial crisis, especially during the first few months, with a significant decline in auto sales because of the lack of liquidity and lending, so these initiatives by global players like Ford and GM will boost the sales of the Indian car sector.
