General Motors India recalls 1.14 lakh units of Tavera

In one of the largest vehicle recalls in India, General Motors India today said it is recalling 1.14 lakh units of its multi-purpose vehicle Chevrolet Tavera, manufactured between 2005 and 2013, to address emissions and specification issues. The company said it has informed the Indian government authorities of an emissions issue involving the Tavera BSIII and an issue with the Tavera BSIV meeting certain specifications, the company said in a statement. "General Motors India (GMI)... is voluntarily recalling the Chevrolet Tavera BS3 (2.5L variant) and BS4 (2.0L variant) from model years 2005-2013 to address emissions and specification issues," the company added. The 1,14,000 affected vehicles will be repaired free of charge at GMI's 280 dealers, it said. GMI stopped production and sale of the Tavera BSIII on June 4 and the Tavera BSIV on July 2. The issues are not safety-related, the company added. The car maker said it has since identified a solution to the issues and performed the required engineering validation, and is awaiting regulatory approvals. "After the proposed solution receives approval from authorities, General Motors will resume Tavera production and sale, and move forward with its recall and customer notification plan for both the BSIII and BSIV models," the company said. The company said it will notify customers how and when to bring in their vehicles for service. Commenting on the recall, GMI President and Managing Director Lowell Paddock said: "Our customers are at the centre of everything we do. Exceeding their expectations begins with designing, building and selling the world’s best vehicles that endure over time." Last month, the firm had announced it was temporarily suspending production of Tavera and the diesel variants of both the hatchback and sedan versions of Sail model, citing quality control issues. GMI is still investigating in the case of the Sail model to ascertain how many units have been affected and it is understood that there could be possible recall of the model. The company had said it will resume production of the diesel variants of Sail hatchback and sedan by the end of this month, while that of Tavera BS III by the end of August. Since industry body SIAM had announced voluntary recall policy of its members last July, nearly 2 lakh units of automobiles have been recalled by various companies in India, mostly four-wheelers.   DHNS