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NT Bureau
Chennai, Jan 9:

        With a view to capture the growing market for small cars and expand its market share in the country, General Motors India would foray into entry-level segment in near future.

Aveo's U-VA from GM India

Announcing its imminent arrival in minicar market, P Balendran, vice-president, GM India, informed Spark would be launched in three months time and would compete with Maruti 800, Hyundai Santro and others in the entry level market. He was speaking to media persons after unveiling the much awaited Chevrolet's Aveo U-VA at a function yesterday.         Catering to B plus segment, Aveo U-VA has been re-engineered for Indian roads based on extensive testing done across the country in order to meet the specific needs of local consumers as well as local driving conditions. To meet local preferences, the new U-VA has been built with more space and the ground clearance has been increased to 188mm with more headroom and leg space.

       GM India was in an expansion mode as it would increase its presence from 79 cities to 95 this year. In addition, the dealership network would also be increased from 95 to 114, while service and spare centres would go up from 98 to 121outlets in the country.

        Moreover, a new plant at Talegaon in Maharashtra would become operational by August 2008 with an initial capacity of 2 lakh units per year. The existing plant at Halol in Baroda has a capacity to turn out 85,000 units.

        The new U-VA has a 1.2 litre petrol engine which delivers 76 PS of peak power with a torque of 110 Nm. In addition, it was claimed the new car would be first vehicle in India to offer a 3-year and one lakh km of standard warranty with a service package for 3 years or 45,000 km.

        Much attention has been paid to enhance passenger comfort as the top-end models of U-VA come with a double folding rear seats; a 40:60 split backrest; a rear windscreen wiper and defogger; 14-inch alloy wheels; a leather gear knob and front fog lamps.

        Aveo's U-VA has been designed keeping in mind the young consumers who preferred more interior space along with good performance, said Balendran. Powered by four-cylinder, 8V SOHC engine, the U-VA has a maximum torque of 110 Nm for 4,400 rpm (revolutions per minute).

        The basic 1.2 U-VA car is priced at Rs 3.99 lakh at ex-showroom Chennai, while 1.2 LS is priced at Rs 4.39 lakh. However, the top-end 1.2LT is priced at Rs 4.79 lakh which comes with a tilt steering, double folding rear seats and an optional ABS (anti-locking breaking system).