2009 October, 13th

Phil Butler

The latest major auto incursion into the Indian market comes from none other than Chevrolet. News from New Delhi today reveals General Motors’ latest offering for people there, the all new Chevrolet Cruze, a true competitor in the mid-size luxury sedan family. The car’s launch at introductory price range of Rs 10.99 lakh to Rs 12.45 lakh is a substantial offering for ailing GM. The Cruze will come in two variants – a manual and an automatic variant, with desirable options of course. GM claims the car get a decent 18.3 kilometer per liter fuel mileage, and the styling is up to par with any i its class obviously.

GM has been outpaced so far by other companies engaging what is surely a thriving market in Asia, but can this somewhat late offering gain traction with enthusiasts there? With 3 engine options of 112 bhp 1.6 Litre 4 cylinder petrol, a 1.8 Litre 140 bhp petrol, and the 2.0 Litre turbocharged rail diesel engine, Indian buyers have something to choose from, but other competitive makers offer more or less the same vehicle, and some for less. Honda Civic, Skoda Octavia, and the Toyota Corolla are all already well positioned for the mid-size market.

India has not yet adapted to Zoom Zoom Zoom yet

GM’s strategy seems pretty straight forward at this point, playing “catch up” with decent offerings is nothing new. But, this is good news for GM fans, as “better late than never” will simply have to be the motto of GM for the time being. One has to wonder though, how customer loyalty and re-branding so to speak, will be undertaken by a company which was the leader for so many years in other markets. This is an interesting position for GM, which was once the envy of the auto world at one time. In a competitive world of modern auto making, one where “name brand” is about the only differentiators, simply offering something decent may not be good enough. It remains to be seen whether Toyota and Honda have what it takes to put GM and other makers our of their misery at last. A tough thing to ponder, but given GM’s woes, one which must be considered.

A nice looking sedan, no doubt, but better?

From this writer’s perspective, and one derived from historical precedent, auto makers who go down for the count do not often rise from the ashes by simply being in the game. GM and even other auto makers entering these markets are going to have a big hill to climb in dislodging Toyota and others from their perches. I am a GM fan, but honestly I do not see anyone but Ford making headway at this stage in the game. Of course this remains to be seen, and I have been wrong before. GM India is also thinking hard about introducing its small car Spark with a 800cc petrol engine in 2010. Regardless of the thought going on, MG is going to have to offer something a little more for the money to make any real headway. The images of the persective cars suffice to tell the story for India’s market now, as the tech specs for all seem pretty comparable.

For my money the front runners in this class are Honda and the Skoda, as the styling and feel of these cars seem superior to other entries. Look at the Honda interior for one clue, as well as that of the Skoda. Aside minor exterior styling differences, there is not a lot of difference other than small price and performance issues. As for popularity and gaining traction, the Skoda sales were up over 50 percent in September along of this year. Someone is liking this “dark horse” of mid-sized cars.

The Chevy Cruze interior, not as luxurious perhaps?

The Honda interior, looking like a more expensive car

The surprise Skoda interior, simple - elegant

Toyota knows a lot, including how to show off their cars

• 2010/03/03 -- Nissan Makes Bid for Biggest Auto Industry PR Goof
• 2010/03/02 -- GM, Toyota, World, Recalling All Autos
• 2010/02/25 -- Ford India Presents the Figo, for Compact Car Lovers
• 2009/07/28 -- The VW Porche Deal, Introducing The World’s New Auto Leader
• 2010/03/15 -- Peter Graves Dies at 83, Marking Adaptive TV Career
• 2010/02/26 -- Students Adapting to Webcam Spying at School
• 2010/02/22 -- Ford and Toyota on Two Ends of Social Media Marketing

About the Author

Phil Butler is editor-in-chief of Everything PR and senior partner at Pamil Visions PR. He’s a widely cited authority on beta startups, search engines and public relations issues, and he has covered tech news since 2004. Phil wrote in the past for ReadWriteWeb, Mashable, Profy, SitePoint, Search Engine Journal, AltSearchEngines. Follow Phil on Twitter or send him an email at phil [at] pamil-visions [dot] com.

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