Kolkata, Jan 14 (IANS) Auto manufacturer General Motors India Thursday said it would sell two lakh cars annually by 2013.
“We expect to sell around two lakh units of our commercial vehicles and passenger cars annually within three years. Around 75 percent of these will be passenger cars,” GM India president and managing director Karl Slym told reporters here.

“In 2009, we sold 70,000 units of passenger vehicles,” Slym said on the sidelines of the launch of its mini car Chevrolet Beat, priced between Rs.3.34 lakh and Rs.3.94 lakh.

However, Slym said, the price range of Beat would be raised shortly on account of a steep rise in input costs.

“It will remain unchanged for the first 60 days. Then we will increase the introductory price. The increasing prices of steel, oil and rubber are worrying factors,” he said, while declining to specify the quantum of price hike.

Passenger car maker Maruti Suzuki Wednesday said it would raise prices of its existing models across segments due to the same reason.

Beat, with a 1.2-litre petrol engine, will be available in three variants in India and offers a mileage of 18.6 km per litre.

Slym said his company was also planning to launch two more versions, that will run on diesel and liquefied petroleum gas, later this year.

“We plan to touch the one lakh-mark in sales this year, and foray into the light commercial vehicle segment by end of next year.”

Till December, the company had a 4.6 percent market share of the country’s car segment.