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GM mulls Isuzu Panther export base in India

Partha Ghosh

US-based General Motors, the world's largest car maker, and its strategic partner, Isuzu Motor of Japan, are considering developing India as an export base of the sports utility vehicle, Isuzu Panther, catering to right hand drive markets in the region.

The Panther, developed by Isuzu, the Japanese company in which GM has a stake, will be launched in India by General Motors' Indian subsidiary - GM India - early next year through a technical collaboration with Isuzu.

General Motors recently decided to pump in Rs 6 billion into GM India, most of which will be invested in the Panther project, GM India's vice-president, marketing, Vinay Dixit, said.

"The idea is to increase localisation content to the maximum possible. While the production cost of the vehicle will come down, the cost to the customer will also be reduced substantially," he said.

Dixit added that Isuzu Japan has indicated that if GM India can offer the vehicle at lower costs as compared to its manufacturing subsidiary in The Philippines and GM's Indonesian plant - which also roll out the vehicle - it will be asked to feed the exports market in the region.

Since India is a right hand drive country, vehicles manufactured out of GM India's Halol factory in Gujarat will be outsourced to right hand drive markets, Dixit said.

Neither GM Indonesia nor Isuzu Philippines exports the Isuzu Panther at present. But there are potential markets in their neighbourhood as well as in country's in the vicinity of India.

"We will know about the cost benefits accrued and the potential for exports after we start manufacturing the vehicles. But the fact that we are investing heavily in the project shows that the idea is to make this vehicle cheap by localising inputs," Dixit said.

The Panther, which is likely to be given a different name for the Indian market, will compete with the likes of Toyota Qualis and the Tata Sumo and, will therefore, have different positioning.

As far as the vehicle's price positioning is concerned, it will be expensive than existing competition, the executive said. A source said Panther is likely to be priced between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 8 lakh.

The company is also considering using celebrity endorsement - GM's first in India - to promote the vehicle in the domestic market. Dixit said that the vehicle will be promoted both as a multi-purpose vehicle, having a larger passenger carrying capacity as well as a slick stylish vehicle.

"We need to have different positioning for different types of consumers and we will have to work out different marketing strategies. Celebrity endorsement is on our mind," he said.

GM India is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Motors Corporation of US and currently rolls out the German engineered Opel models - Astra, Corsa and Swing - from its Halol plant.

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