General Motors halted vehicle production yesterday (June 27) at both of its factories in India in an effort to reduce stock amid lukewarm automotive demand.
“We are aligning production on a daily basis as per demand and based on that we decide on certain no-production days to avoid unnecessary inventory buildup,” said Lowell Paddock, president and managing director of General Motors India. “We had a no-production day last week as well.”
The automaker’s production is still running slightly higher than it was in 2011, but slowing auto sales in Asia’s third-largest auto market, primarily due to higher interest rates and global economic uncertainty, are making automakers keep a close eye on supply levels. On a year-over-year basis, car sales grew 2.2 percent in 2012 through March to 2.02 million vehicle sold, while 2011 saw a 30 percent jump over 2010.
In addition, India’s government recently removed price controls on gas fuels, causing gas prices to surge and automakers to produce fewer gasoline-powered cars. Meanwhile, consumers are beginning to consider diesel-powered vehicles more frequently.
“Right now we continue to witness a period of uncertainty not only in India but globally. It’ll be difficult to forecast the rate at which our sales will grow this year,” Mr. Paddock said after introducing a diesel-powered Cruze.
The compact sedan uses the same 2.0 liter diesel mill launched in Australia and Europe. It’s good for 168 horsepower and 280 lb.-ft. of torque and returns at an impressive 17.3 kmpl (40 MPG) when paired with a manual transmission. The diesel-powered Cruze has a starting price of 1.39 million rupees ($24,261) and will be followed by a new hatchback (Sail U-VA) and Enjoy MPV. Meanwhile, the U.S. will get a diesel-powered Cruze of its own, but it is expected to be called Eco-D and cradle a different diesel engine.
The GM Authority Take
Closely matching supply with true market demand is a characteristic of the new GM, a quality that Old GM didn’t possess mind you. Other than that, who wants a Cruze Diesel?
Comments
I thought diesel vehicles put a lot more crap into the air? Isn’t it because there aren’t as many restrictions for them as gas vehicles? I heard they do put out less carbon dioxide though.
Hunter they do put more micro particles in the air compared to gasoline powered cars. They also emit NOx emissions due to much higher compression ratios. US emission standards are higher than they are in Europe and the rest of the world. But it is also true they do emit less CO2 because their thermodynamic efficiency is greater than your typical gasoline engine. Hope that helped.
That’s not entirely correct. Without the particulate filters a diesel will put more unburnt carbon out the tailpipe. But since practically all diesels today are fitted with particulate filters this is not an issue. With additional devices such as urea injection (in some cases) the exhaust is significantly devoid of NOx. Consider also that modern diesels are running at much lower compression ratios than before (the 1984 Jetta diesel ran at 23:1, the current Jetta diesel runs at 16.5:1) so there are inherently less NOx emissions to worry about to begin with. In some cases some modern cars don’t need urea injection at all. They run just fine without it.
I would love to have a Cruze hatch with a diesel to get all that torque with good fuel economy, one of the reasons my ideal car would be the Verano hatch with the new 2.0T. But if what we’re getting is the same engine in the Holden Cruze, it’s going to need quite a bit of improvement. The Edmunds review left me surprised and much more cautious about it. Apparently, not all diesels are alike. If you could shed some light on what we we will get with the U.S. Cruze (maybe I missed it) and why it will be better than the Holden Cruze that would be appreciated.
You should really change your name to “CruzeHatchForUS” — the Verano is a long, long, long shot.
But to answer your question, the current disel engine is fine. It works well, so I’m dubious as to what Edmunds is complaining about. Even so, the diesel mill that will be used in the Cruze Eco-D is an all-new design:
http://gmauthority.com/blog/2011/08/gm-europe-to-invest-20-million-euros-into-torino-italy-powertrain/
http://gmauthority.com/blog/2012/02/u-s-chevy-cruze-diesel-eco-d-engine-being-co-developed-with-gm-europe/
I would expect it to also replace all instances of the existing 2.0T Diesel found in the Cruze (and other models) globally.
India………….Realy
I thought India was FORD country, WOW demand for GM is strong enough in India for local production, WAY TO GO! I wonder if WTCC is popular in India?