The auto industry is never short of intrigues with gears shifting at various stretches and turns. With reports swirling around General Motors' shelving plans on its future investment in India and the automaker retaining a stoic silence, there are interesting murmurs once again about Chevrolet winding up its domestic operations or whether there would be a relaunch.
If the latest rumours are to be believed, GM has set its sights on launch of Beat, whose production could be in the pipeline. Although the latest bit is just adding to the confusion, it does lend credence to the series of images of the new Beat captured while testing on the roads in the country.
Buzz around GMs' exit from India got loud recently with the company stopping the right-hand drive models, specific to markets like India at the company's Talegaon plant in the country.
A report of AutocarIndia says that the new Beat from Chevrolet is being readied for its launch in May. The report also adds that the new Beat will be followed by the launch of the Beat Essentia and the Beat Activ. The Beat has been on testing on the Indian roads for quite some time now. The new Beat is likely to flaunt swept-back headlamps. The side profile of the Beat is not likely to see any changes, while the rear, as seen in the new images, will get refreshed tail lamps. The slot for the licence plate has been changed from the boot lid to the bumper.
Under the hood, the new Beat is also expected to get petrol engine. The new petrol unit is rumoured to be the downsized version of the 1.4 Ecotec motor. Currently, the Beat petrol is powered by an 1199cc four-cylinder unit that develops 77bhp at 6200rpm and 106.5Nm of torque, while the diesel model is 936cc three-cylinder engine that develops 56bhp at 4000rpm and 124.5Nm of torque at 1750rpm. Both the engines are mated to 5-speed manual transmission.
