Ankush Arora who is the vice-president (marketing, sales and after sales) GM India, said “The country is still not ready for such plug-in hybrid vehicles. The expensive Chevrolet Volt may get few Indian buyers, who are fascinated to drive a green car. It will certainly not be a huge success in a sensitive market such as.”

Arora still further stated that “if India wanted to become a big player in electric vehicles, it needed to increase its supply of batteries. It’s not the technology; it’s the battery that is the key to making an electric solution commercial. We have the technology and will explore every possibility to launch something made for India.”Karl Slym who is the president of GM India said “it made little sense to continue working with Reva after it sold a 55 per cent stake to Mahindra & Mahindra. Because of Reva having (a new) owner, there really is no value for us in doing this India-specific exploration (with it).”

The government has borrowed New York-based investment bank Lazard Freres & Co. to assist in the smooth progress of an IPO (initial public offering) for which it will be compensating a respectable $500,000 per month fee if Lazard Freres is competent to take the company public within 12 months. Or else, the periodical fee will be cut in half. The investment bank’s services had antecedently been used by the United Auto Workers union to review GM’s books back in 2007.

Chris Liddell, GM’s CFO said that “Certainly over the next year, there’s a possibility we could do an IPO, but the market’s got to be ready, the automobile industry has to continue to improve and we have to continue to improve.”

When GM went insolvent last year, the U.S. government had furnished it with bailout finances and thus was left as the widely held owner. The U.S. Treasury rendered $50 billion to GM, out of which it refunded $6.7 billion and the balance was changed to 61 percent ownership of the new GM after the auto manufacturer came out from failure last year.

Actually the American car manufacturer is apprehensive to take advantage of the interest that would be brought about by the car. This car was actually to be launched in 2014 but has been advanced.

The car is expected to have a littler and lighter body utilising weightless materials like carbon fibre, aluminum and magnesium.

It may most likely include a smaller, but still very efficient engine and because of its lighter body it ought to preserve the essential power-to-weight relation called for from long-established Corvette owners.

Corvette Purists will be happy to note that the new car will hang on to its front-engined layout – which is a hallmark of the car for the past 57 years.

Titling-wise, the car might look like that of the Corvette Stingray Concept that came out at the Chicago Motor Show this year. It will feature the CTS-V’s LSA powerplant for its engine. A twofold-clutch gear case is also on the anvil as it may either want to keep up with the Porsche 911 or even the Nissan GT-R.

This is because Ford is likely to take the first place as the top selling brands in America.

A report from Bloomberg states, “Ford Motor Co., gaining ground on its distressed domestic competitors, may surpass General Motors Corp. this year to become the top-selling automaker in the U.S. for the first time since 1931.”

The Street reported as “Ford reported its smallest sales decline in 11 months, making it the country’s No. 2 automaker in June and raising the possibility that it could move to the top spot.  Ford sales decreased by 11%, while Toyota sales decreased by 33% and at General Motors sales decreased by 34%.”

Some forecaster remark that demand is expected to increase in the approaching weeks as consumers look to take advantage of the government’s Cash for Clunkers program.

The changeover from old to new GM thought to be quite flawless for consumers, at least primarily.
GM has plucked 4 divisions from its portfolio and at some time in the future it plans to considerably decrease its dealer body by not reviving franchise agreements.

These 1,100 dealerships form about 18% of GM’s total dealer. They have time with them till October 2010 to sell their residual cars. The number of products in the line up will fall from 48 to 34.

The new GM will have the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands. GM has peeled Pontiac, Hummer, Saab, and Saturn from its range of brands. The latter 3 divisions are being sold to other companies.

This filing of bankruptcy in order to render an extra taxpayer fund of $30 billion is an enormous speculation for the Obama administration. This was done in order to bring in some restructuring for the automaker.

The immediate allegation is that GM will get smaller and thus reducing its market share to a lesser competitive structure. This will give an opportunity for rivals like Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Hyundai to take advantage of the situation and rise up and affix their stamp in the auto industry.

Even though Vauxhall factories at Ellesmere Port and Luton have undergone foremost reformation and efficiency savings, it is said that more could follow under Fiat ownership.

It is also said that if the financial forces are too heavy then the company may have to close its UK factories.
In reality it makes more sense to decrease expenditure at GM factories in Germany as they are bigger and there is additional capacity to make cuts. Opel has nearly 26,000 employees in Germany, while Vauxhall has around 5,000 employees in the UK.

On the other hand, the German government has subscribed to offer grants for German brands which will not allow Fiat to make cuts. This will put the focus back on the UK factories.

General Motors has announced that its multi-billion-dollar bailout from the US government will not prevent it from running out of cash.  GM’s auditors Deloitte & Touche have conveyed ’substantial doubt’ that the car maker can continue as a going concern. A Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing from GM has spot lit the degree of the car maker’s problems, forewarning that it may not be able to repay a $1bn bond. Deloitte & Touche’s doubts about GM’s endurance are established on sustained operating losses, negative shareholders’ equity and the helplessness to make enough cash flow through sales.

The car maker revealed that its liquidity fell below the levels needed to run its business before it began to get emergency loans from the government last December.  GM has till now received $13.4bn from the US government and has applied for another $16.6bn. It is also of the opinion that it will receive around $6bn from governments in other countries where it manufactures, including the UK, Germany, Canada, Sweden and Thailand.

Saab is planning for a survival plan which includes a reorganization process and that plan will be obtainable to its creditors in three weeks’ time.

The company will bring all its design, manufacturing and engineering facilities and actions back to Sweden, and supposes that launching the new-generation 9-5, 9-4X and 9-3X is still feasible.
Managing Director Jan-Ake Jonsson said yesterday: “We explored, and will continue to explore, all available options for funding and/or selling Saab and it was determined a formal reorganization would be the best way to create a truly independent entity that is ready for investment.”

Meanwhile, General Motors is also getting ready to spin off its Saturn domestic division as a break up marketing and distribution agency.

The number of brands produced by GM will also be decreased from the present 8 to 4 with only Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac and GMC surviving.  The appeal for additional financial aid is anticipated to be lashed out by industry evaluators who consider the US automotive industry too incompetent and backward to endure the depression.