General Motors India restarts production of the Tavera MUV

General Motors India has restarted production of the BS-3 variants of the Tavera MUV, which was pulled off production a few months ago due to the MUV's failure to meet emission norms. Previously, emission details of the Tavera were fudged to satisfy regulatory requirements, leading to General Motors firing a long list of officials from both its Indian and American headquarters.

The unearthing of the scam related to the Tavera's emissions, by the Indian government's automotive testing agency, ARAI, resulted in General Motors having to stop production of the MUV until fresh regulatory approvals were obtained. Also, a recall notice of 114,000 Chevrolet Tavera MUVs already sold in India was issued by the car maker. 

Notably, the Indian government's transport ministry instituted an inquiry into the emission fudging scam by General Motors India and rumours suggest that the American automaker's Indian subsidiary would be slapped with a hefty fine of over 400 crore rupees. The exact quantum of the fine and other punitive measures suggested by the inquiry commission are yet to be made public.

Also, the periodic inspection process for automobiles already in production was to be tightened following the unearthing of the Tavera emissions fudging scam. Reuters now reports that the American automaker has obtained the required regulatory clearances to restart production of the BS-3 Tavera MUV, one of the better selling products in General Motors India's vehicle line up.

Approval for the BS-4 variants of the Tavera is likely to come shortly, with production to begin subsequently. The Tavera, available with both BS3 and BS4 emission norms compliant, turbo diesel engines, is a rebadged Isuzu Panther. The Tavera got a facelift last year, along with a more powerful, 2 liter turbo diesel engine (105 Bhp-264 Nm) that General Motors sources from ICML Sonalika.

The 2.5 liter BS-3 turbo diesel motor is built by AVTEC Limited, an auto parts company owned by the C.K. Birla group. Both engines get 5 speed manual gearboxes. The Tavera is available in 7, 8 and 9 seat configurations. The MUV competes with the likes of the Mahindra Bolero and the Tata Sumo in the people mover category, in both urban and rural settings of India.