As part of a plan to consolidate Indian manufacturing operations at its Talegaon plant, General Motors will shut down its facility in Halol, Gujarat, while negotiating the sale of the facility to Chinese automaker Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC).
It’s currently unclear whether GM is looking to sell all of the Halol plant or only certain assets. When reached contacted by Indian media regarding the sale, GM stated that discussions with SAIC are progressing well. In fact, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the acquisition of certain assets of GM’s Halol plant by SAIC Motor HK, a subsidiary of SAIC Motor Corp.
Both GM and SAIC have a well-developed relationship in China, where the automakers have various joint ventures. One of these — Shanghai GM — handles the sales and service operations of the Buick, Cadillac and Chevrolet brands. Another — Shanghai OnStar — handles the OnStar telematics service in China, while a third — Shanghai-GM-Wuling — is responsible for the Wuling commercial vehicle brand and quickly-growing entry-level Baojun brand.
For its part, GM is continuing to work out the details of the Halol plant’s closure with its employees, a process in which it initially encountered various difficulties, while securing the necessary approvals from the government.
“SAIC wants the asset to be encumbrance free with no-objection certificates from state authorities before it goes ahead with the acquisition,” sources told the Times of India.
In the meantime, SAIC is also holding discussions with state governments of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat for greenfield car plants.
Further Information and Reporting
- GM India news
- GM Halol plant information
- GM Talegaon plant information
- GM India headquarters information
- GM India Technical Center information
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