Pune/Bangalore, Jan. 15 General Motors India (GMI) has drawn up a new strategy for domestic sales as well as for export of its electric Spark cars, the first ‘purely' electric car to come on the road from the auto giant globally.
Mr Karl Slym, President and Managing Director, GMI, told Business Line that for domestic sales, the Reva-General Motors joint venture will sell electric car kits to GMI which would make these cars and sell them in India.
For the export market, GMI will sell complete electric Spark cars in those countries where the Spark is not manufactured locally. But in countries where the Spark is manufactured, the Reva-General Motors joint venture will sell electric car kits to GM entities.
Battery on lease
GMI is also planning to offer batteries of the car on lease to car owners as their cost is nearly 40 per cent of the total price of the complete cars. The auto maker wants to offer them on lease to make the car more affordable.
“This will help the car owners in another way. If we have upgrades on batteries, owners will be able to benefit from them,” he said. Customers will also be offered complete car, including the batteries, for sale. Mr Slym said with the battery technology getting upgraded almost every week, the cost of these batteries is also coming down.
“So, by the time we start selling these cars in India, we will be able to offer them at very attractive prices,” he said.
Protoype under testing
Mr Slym said in India, GM will launch the e-Spark in the fourth quarter of 2010. The prototype is being tested. The cars will be produced at the Talegaon plant. The company expects to sell around 5,000 units of the e-Spark in the first year, he said.
Elaborating on the role of each of the two joint venture partners, he said, “Reva will make and supply the power cube, while we will engineer and manufacture the car.” The company is looking at 90 per cent localisation for the product.
While the on-road cost of the car is still being worked out, Mr Slym said, “Around 40 per cent of the total cost could be the battery cost. We are working on an agnostic system that can use different batteries – either a cheaper lead-acid one or the more expensive lithium ion type. Our vision is to give the customer the option of choosing the type of battery.”
Though GM Corporation commissioned a Li-ion battery plant in the US recently, Mr Slym ruled out import from there, stating that it will rely on the Japanese partner for this. Referring to the operational cost of the car, he said, “The overall ownership will still be cheaper than that of a petrol car.” The company may facilitate re-charging of batteries by setting up stations for the purpose.
Source : Business Line