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</p><p>&nbsp; After leaving India in 1952-53, 1995 was the year that marked General Motors' return to Indian market. First brand which GM set forth its Indian Innings was Opel. Famous in Europe, Opel was marketed as a Premium brand for its time and Astra was their first model here. Quickly the feedback for Astra started flowing in with people having access to quality they had never seen or felt before. Very little competition saw Astra as a premium sedan and with Opel brand, it seemed that GM has got all things right. Confident, they came up with several other products like Corsa and Vectra. Vectra was an import and soon faded away, but it was Corsa which helped Opel brand find new homes. Back then, Corsa was one of the highest selling cars in the world, a fact GM tried to publicize. Corsa was one the few cars which was available as a hatchback, sedan and station wagon, pretty much ahead of its time. Also, there were engine options which were rather rare in that era. Over a period of time, the brand Opel was losing steam due to several factors like high maintenance costs, lower efficiency of its products and not so nice pre and post sales experience. Car buyers were not hitting the GM showroom floors and then came in Chevrolet brand. Chevrolet was well known in India due to their presence in a few years after Indian Independence. While 2003 will be noted down as Chevrolet's re-entry to Indian soil, 2006 was the year when Opel brand was discontinued. Chevrolet Forester SUV, a rebadged Subaru Forester, and Chevrolet Optra, a rebadged Daewoo Nubira were GM India’s latest weapons for increasing sales. Forester quickly tanked thanks to a petrol-only engine that did its job well, but that was all about it. Optra soldiered on with updates and even a diesel was available but was discontinued in 2012. It's noteworthy that GM came up with Optra SRV, a hatch based on Optra and marketed as premium hatch, agaon a move much ahead of its time.</p><p>&nbsp; The saving grace turned out be Tavera, which is still on sale today and likely to receive upgrades. Spark, a rebadged Daewoo Matiz (GM took over Daewoo Automotive Division in 2001), its international replacement, Beat were also sharing showroom floor with Cruze. Cruze was GM’s first global model that hit India. Before that, either European and later, only Asian models were launched. Cruze was once leading the sales chart in its segment. A strong diesel got attention of buyers and competition alike, but it could not sustain the onslaught of competition. Captiva, a crossover, also did well briefly, but fizzled out. More recent launches like Sail UV-A and sedan, Enjoy are also struggling to find new homes. Enjoy MPV is from SAIC (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation) product stable, GM’s Chinese partner. The Indian buyers could not stand a relatively dated Chinese MPV rebadged as Chevrolet.</p><p>&nbsp; Above is just a brief history of models (some might have been missed out) that came out as GM’s attempt to win Indian market. But if we observe closely, all its models perform well initially and then the sales number just tank. GM did start to offer fantastic warranty and service packages, but to no avail. What exactly went wrong? For once, the marketing push was never there, and initial image of heavy on pocket cars is turning out to be quite difficult to change. The launches from Asian subsidiaries were already dated by the time they hit the street and very fierce competition from players like Ford, Hyundai and Maruti Suzuki did not help either. High volume segment observes cut throat competition, and this is where GM could not find the right product at the right time. And it went on to record losses year on year. Ford, GM’s global competitor also passed through rough phase, but has bounced back strongly and now even exports cars from India. GM could not connect with Indian consumer like what Hyundai did in late 1990’s or what Maruti did in middle of 1980’s. The Chevrolet Tavera emission scandal did not help either. SAIC and GM India entered into Joint Venture in late 2009, though in 2012 GM bought back shared and current holding of SAIC is 7%. Its highly probable that SAIC’s influence to make decision for Indian Operations could be one of the reasons for GM’s struggle. The Chinese products are not finding any favor amongst competent products offered by rivals.</p><p>&nbsp; Currently, one of its oldest model on sale, Tavera, remains one of the best seller for Chevrolet, and it's no wonder that why it's being upgraded. Beat, despite the diesel option has lost the race in small car segment and GM has been reluctant to launch Sonic which has the potential to fight it out in competitive small car segment. GM’s Halol plant was to be closed down by June 2016, but now it's been extended to March 2017. There are various reasons for it ranging from GM’s earlier commitments when they got the land to set up facility to pending case against shutting down of plant. The way forward for GM looks tough. Its compact sedan, Beat Essentia, is a late entry into fiercely competitive volume segment and it's too little too late. Cruze needs a replacement and price hikes on current model have eroded value for money advantage it once held. Tavera is going to be cabbie favorite thanks to robust build and low maintenance, with new Innova Crysta having high price, it could be right opening for GM to strike back and win some volumes. A more serious effort in small car segment is one of the methods for GM can get back into profit. With current volumes, it's not logical and feasible for GM to run two plants, one at Halol and the other at Talegaon in Maharashtra. A thorough overhaul of brand image, products and serious marketing push can only ensure survival. It's a tough and uphill task, but GM has the right products and resources globally to assist Indian operations.</p><p></p>