The world waited for the Nano. But the head honchos of GMI were not perturbed . They were in a class of their own.

General Motors India (GMI), the Indian arm of the US automobile major, has entered the premium SUV segment, by launching Chevloret Captiva, its new sports utility vehicle this week.

“Captiva has already made its mark in Europe, Australia, South America and Indonesia. And now, it is ready to capture its share of the Indian market. GMI has kicked of the year with a brilliant SUV,” said Karl Slym, GM India president and managing director, at the 9th Auto Expo. Captiva could definitely score with the Indian mass since it looks more like a stylish compact SUV that has a three-seater as well as a seven-seater variant.

Chevrolet Captiva is priced to compete with Honda CR-V -which is sold at Rs 18.4 lakh, Pajero - priced at 18.8 lakh and Nissan X-Trail’s - it’s priced at Rs 23 lakh. The 2-litre diesel driven Captiva will be available to the customers for Rs 17.74 lakh (exshowroom ).

“We believe Captiva will be a successful vehicle on the Indian roads. We hope to sell 1,000 units in 2008,” said Slym. The company estimates that the SUV segment would move up from the current 7,000 units per annum to 28,000 units by the year 2012. The company would consider manufacturing the vehicle here if it is able to get requisite volumes.

The company also disclosed its commitment to set up a power train (engine and transmissions ) manufacturing facility in the country. Besides, GMI is planning to come up with alternate fuel powered Aveo. “The company already sells its premium sedan Optra with a dual fuel option of CNG and petrol and would soon come out with similar variants of Aveo, but the time-frame for the launch of such cars in the country is yet to be decided,” said Slym.

Slym hopes that GMI would capture 10 per cent of the Indian automobile market by 2010. “I discount any fear that relates to Tata Motors’ proposed Rs 1 lakh car. The small car segment has changed with many launches and a country like India, which has a population of 1.2 billion people, has diverse needs” , said Slym.