General Motors to stop selling cars in India; exports to continue

KEY HIGHLIGHTS: 
1. General Motors to quit selling cars in India
2. India will remain its export hub
3. The company had 7 models on sale India

US-based General Motors has decided to quit selling cars in world's fourth largest automobile market -- India. 

The company is set to make the announcement at 2.3-0 pm on Thursday May 18, 2017. 

General Motors (GM) sells cars in India under its brand name Chevrolet and has a manufacturing plant in Talegaon, Maharashtra. 

The company, however, will retain the car-making facility and export cars to its other markets from India. 

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GM's service centres and after-sales will also continue operations to cater to its existing customer base in India. 

Although this news doesn't come as a surprise as GM has been bleeding in India since its entry in 1995. 

The company has less than 1% market share in India where over 27 lakh passenger vehicles were sold in financial year ended March 31, 2017, up 5.4% from the year before last. 

GM, on the other hand, sold less than 6000 cars in the given period -- a contraction of 42% as against 2016. 

GM has been reevaluating its plans for India and other markets for quite some time and had decided not to introduce any new cars in the Indian market. 

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The company currently sells seven models: Spark, Beat, Sail (sedan and hatchback), Cruze, Enjoy, Tavera and Trailblazer. 

Spark is its cheapest offering at Rs 3,63,901 with Trailblazer and its most expensive starting at Rs 23,95,000.