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The General is finally getting aggressive. GM has managed to surprise the automobile industry and its potential car buyers on many fronts with its latest launch — the Chevrolet Spark.

It has surprised the market with the earlier-than-expected timing of the launch, by flying in the company's (as yet the world's largest car manufacturer) Chairman and CEO, Mr Rick Wagoner, for the launch and by pricing the Spark extremely aggressively.

Of course, of all these, the best news to buyers would have been the Rs 3.09 lakh ex-showroom price for the base variant. This makes the Spark an extremely compelling alternative to buyers considering the current crop of entry-level small cars.

The Chevy Spark, which is supposedly GM's most successful model, is a product of GMDAT (GM Daewoo Auto & Technology). The car is based on the original Daewoo Matiz and the resemblance still shows when you look at the Chevy's side profile. But the car has been extensively worked on and the build quality of the Spark should compare favourably with cars in the higher priced segments.

GM India has set a sales target of 2,000-3,000 Sparks per month.

S. Muralidhar

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