Bumpy Road Ahead for General Motors India

As things stand, General Motors (GM) India is not in the driver’s seat.

Late last month, the company announced its decision to recall 1.14 lakh units of its utility vehicle Tavera, manufactured between 2005 and 2013, because they failed to meet emission and specification norms. There has been no official statement on the cause, but media reports suggest GM engineers manipulated emission tests to comply with government standards. Post the controversy, GM has fired about 25 people, including Anil Mehrotra (India CFO), Sheila Jain Sarver (head of GM’s India technical centre at Bangalore) and Sam Winegarden (vice president for global engine engineering).

The problem doesn’t end here. From early July, GM has halted the production of its Sail sedan and hatchback citing quality issues. It is contemplating a recall.

Dealers believe this will affect business.And it’s not as if GM India’s cars have been selling big. In June, it sold 6,575 vehicles, down 11 percent year on year.