mit Dutta, vice-president, marketing, sales and after-sales, General Motors India, is smiling a lot these days. The Detroit, USA-headquartered company posted a nearly 64 per cent jump in sales in May 2005 compared to its sales in May last. But what lends that glint to Dutta�s eyes is the sales of Chevrolet Tavera, the diesel multi-utility vehicle launched by the company in May 2004. A year on, in May 2005, the company knocked off 1,610 units of Tavera, the winner of Overdrive magazine�s Utility Vehicle of the Year 2005 award, to take its tally to 16,659 units within a year of its launch.

For those with a passion for numbers, here�s some more. The one-year-old MUV contributed 64 per cent to the total sales of GM for the month. Which means the other six cars in the company portfolio - Chevrolet Optra, Chevrolet Forrester, Opel Corsa, Opel Corsa Sail, Opel Corsa Swing and Opel Vectra - contributed less than 40 per cent. (Vectra and Forrester are imported and the rest are manufactured in India).... more