General Motors’ Dealers Demand Govt Action As Company Shuts Shop

General Motors dealers protest at Jantar Mantar, demanding government action against the company.

General Motors dealers protest outside Jantar Mantar in Delhi. 

(Photo: The Quint)

Irate dealers of General Motors from all over India gathered at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to protest the company’s decision to pull-out of its Indian operations.

The company has 96 dealers and 142 showroom across the country, who are now demanding a refund on their investments. The dealers claimed that nearly 15,000 Indians are likely to lose their jobs because of the company “going back on its promises”.

Last month, General Motors had announced that it was stopping sales of its cars in the domestic market and also shut down one of its plants. It will, however, continue to make cars for export from Talegaon in Maharashtra. In fact, General Motors announced on Monday that it was starting exports of the Chevrolet Beat sedan to Latin American markets from India.

The Quint spoke with some of the dealers at Jantar Mantar, who said that GM had gone back on their promises of investing $1billion in India. They also said that the company had asked them to renovate their showroom to prepare for new model launches just last month, and that the news of the company stopping domestic sales came as a big blow.

Dealers are being offered only about 12 percent to 15 percent of their investment as compensation.

You can catch the full interaction with the dealers on The Quint's Facebook Live session.

And here is a summary of events from our sister channel Bloomberg Quint.

Meanwhile, customers too are feeling the heat. General Motors dealers are uncertain whether they will be able to provide after sales service to their customers for very long. Many are planning to tie up with rival brands, since they won't be selling any more GM cars.

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