General Motors will be launching the facelift of its entry level car, the Chevrolet Spark by October 2012. The American automaker has not given the Spark any major changes for a long time now and the facelift won’t be getting many changes either. The exteriors will borrow styling cues from the Spark Electric which was showcased last year, while the interiors might get a small update in terms of colours. The above Spark was spotted by Team-BHPian Adi_K in Pune. GM has not revealed much on its plans but intends to keep the Spark as its entry level offering in India.
Globally General Motors has replaced the Indian Spark with its next generation model (which happens to be the Beat in India). There are no plans to pull the Spark out of the Indian market as the company has recovered the fixed costs already and can afford to price the vehicle very aggressively. Currently the Maruti Suzuki Alto dominates the segment, while the Hyundai Eon is doing decent numbers. Thus GM is looking at infusing freshness in the Chevrolet Spark to increase its mediocre sales.
The Chevrolet Spark was earlier sold as the Daewoo Matiz but post bankruptcy of the Korean automaker, GM took over their car division. Rumours suggest the Spark might get an 800cc, 3-cylinder engine, which will enable GM to reduce costs and boost fuel efficiency. But there is the cost of development of such an engine would far exceed the profits, given the lackluster sales of the Spark. Since the Indian Spark is no longer on sales globally, the changes on this facelift have been carried out by GM’s technical facility in Bangalore. Expect revision in prices downwards as GM brace to take on the competition in the entry level segment.
Spy Picture Source – Team-BHP
