Spark LS Muzic launched in Ranchi on Friday. Pix: Manik Bose

Ranchi, March 20: A new car drove into the capital’s four-wheeler circuit today with the launch of General Motors’ Spark LS Muzic — a special edition of Chevrolet Spark.

Vice-president (India) of General Motors Ankush Arora launched the car at a function in the state capital.

Priced at Rs 3,29,390, the car boasts several new features. Compared to Chevrolet Spark, it offers more space. Among the additional features are an entertainment system, sporty seat fabric and remote keyless entry.

Arora said that even in the times of recession, the company had been able to record growth in sales although the percentage is less as compared to the previous years.

“In the period 2006-07, the growth was 18 per cent. The economic downturn has affected the automobile market but we have been able to register a little more than two per cent increase in sales this year,” Arora told the reporters after the launch of the car. He pegged the growth of sales in the next fiscal at five per cent.

The vice-president further viewed that although the automobile market in India has been affected by the downturn, the effects have not been “as bad” as the western countries.

According to him, the market share of General Motors in India will rise to 10 per cent by 2010 from the current figure of 4 per cent. The company has the target of producing 80,000 vehicles this year, he said.

General Motors has three outlets in the state capital — Rahul Automobiles in Ranchi, Narbheram Motors in Jamshedpur and a showroom in Dhanbad.

Arora said that the company would soon open another outlet in Bokaro.

Nano launch

Tata Motors’s much-awaited Nano will be available in the state after a week of its launch in Mumbai on March 23. The dealers have been invited by the company to take part in the launch.

“We are yet to be intimated officially about the manner in which the car has to be booked. We expect the car to arrive in Jharkhand within a week after its launch,” said Dilip Kataruka, the proprietor of Basudev Automobiles, a dealer of Tata Motors in Ranchi.