General Motors is on the verge of stopping production of the Aveo and Aveo U-VA vehicles, which will be discontinued by September. The Aveo twins have been massive flops in the Indian market, owing to their high price and lack of diesel power. The American automaker is all set to replace the Aveo twins with the Sail twins, which have been under test for quite some time now. Regular MotorBeam reader Sushrut Athale was quick to spot the Chevrolet Sail hatchback fueling up at a fuel pump in Pune.
The Chevrolet Sail hatchback will be launched in India by September, whereas the sedan version will only hit GM dealerships early next year. The Sail was first released in 2001 by GM’s Chinese partner SAIC. Due to the Chinese heritage, expect the Sail to be very aggressive priced. Power will come in from a 1.2-litre petrol engine which also powers the Beat, whereas the diesel Sail will use Fiat’s tried and tested Multijet motor, producing 75 BHP of power and 190 Nm of torque. Both petrol and diesel engines will be mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox.
GM remains mum on the pricing of the Sail but we can expect a starting price of Rs. 5 lakhs for the base variant, going upto Rs. 6.5 lakhs for the top end-diesel (all price estimates ex-showroom, Delhi). The Sail hatchback measures a tad under 4-meters (3947 mm) and will thus benefit from the lower excise duty offered to small cars. Will it be able to uproot Maruti Suzuki’s domination in the hatchback segment remains to be seen, but on paper the Sail doesn’t have much going for it. GM should have brought in the Sonic twins, which make a perfect replacement to the aging Aveo twins.
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