Chevrolet halts production of Sail, Sail UVA and Tavera

US car maker, General Motors India has stopped the production of the diesel variant of its recently launched hatchback and notch back model of Sail and BS III Tavera MPV for almost a week due to potential emission performance of both these models.

The company had stopped the production of diesel powered Sail notchback and hatchback on 5th of June and Tavera BS III on 6th of June. The company however said, the Tavera BS-IV and Sail HB (hatchback) & NB (notchback or sedan) Petrol models are unaffected and production of these vehicles is continuing.

P Balendran, VP, General Motors India confirmed the development and said, "As part of General Motors' stringent manufacturing and quality control processes, we have identified a potential emissions performance issue with the Chevrolet Tavera BS-III and a quality issue with the Chevrolet Sail HB & NB Diesel variant. Neither issue is safety-related. Since GM is committed to product excellence, we have temporarily suspended production of these vehicles."

The company has been averaging the sales of Sail hatchback and sedan of around 2,000 to 3,000 units and Tavera around 1,500 to 2,000 units. Over 60-70 per cent of Sail vehicle sales comes from diesel, but increasingly the share of petrol is moving up.

The company has already intimated all its dealers on the same. And this suspension of production could lead to delay in delivery of models for some of the booked orders.

Balendran said, that the company is working hard to resolve these issues as quickly as possible and will come back with more details in the coming days as it moves toward a solution for both vehicles.

When asked, if these vehicles will be recalled, Balendran said, "We will come back to you with an update after thorough investigation in the coming days."

The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers Association came out with the voluntary recall policy in July of 2012 and since then several car makers like Ford, Honda, Toyota and Nissan amongst others have resorted to recall of over 1.5 lakh vehicle in India.

The move which was perceived with a lot of scepticism in the past, is increasingly considered as a good move on part of the companies who are owning up to their fault and recalling vehicle to replace spare parts free of cost.

Also Read: Chevrolet Beat anniversary discount on offer