November 2, 2012, was an auspicious day for US car maker, General Motors India, since it launched its premium Chevrolet Sail U-VA in the passenger car space. The vehicle priced between Rs 4.44 lakh and Rs 6.62 lakh (ex-show room New Delhi) is available in petrol and diesel options.
Hatchback Sail U-VA can is the predecessor of Sail sedan and Enjoy MPV, the new models GM is planning to launch over the next two or three months. GM is aiming to increase the annual volumes to 2 lakh units in the next one year.
Sail U-VA is an adorable model from GM that comes in a variety of colors like Summit White, Misty Lake, Caviar Black, Linen Beige, Super Red, Switchblade Silver, and Sandrift Grey. It is powered by 1.3 litre ‘Smartech’ diesel engine which can offer 22.1 kilometers per litre (ARAI). At the same time, the 1.2 litre petrol engine can offer mileage up to 18.2 kilometers per litre.
This vehicle is aggressively priced and the price of Sail U-VA is Rs 25,000 to Rs 40,000 less than its direct competitor, Maruti Suzuki’s Swift. The ex –showroom price for Sail U-VA (Petrol) is as shown below.
- Base — Rs 4, 44,000/-
- LS — Rs 4, 83,918/-
- LS ABS — Rs 5, 18, 418/-
- LT– Rs 5, 57,918/-
The ex –showroom price for Sail U-VA (Diesel) is
- LS — Rs 5, 87,289
- LS ABS — Rs 6, 19,289
- LT ABS — Rs 6, 62,000
GM is planning for sales of 40,000 to 45,000 units (per month) in India, through which they can capture around 20% of the overall passenger vehicle market. Main competitors for this car in car market are Maruti Suzuki’s Swift, whose sales averages about 15,000 units a month. Next to that is Hyundai i20, whose sales volume is around 7,000 – 7,500 units a month.
Another attractive feature of the vehicle is its three-year or 100,000-km standard warranty. Along with this, customers can enjoy an add-on service maintenance package, which provides free maintenance for three years or up to 45,000 km.
Technical Engineers at GM spent around two years to complete the project of Sail U-VA, on GM’s new global small car platform suitable for Indian roads. The company is pinning hopes in its new vehicle to increase sales in India and expects it to emerge as the best selling model in the country.
