China’s largest automaker Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC) Friday announced a collaboration to jointly

RELATED ARTICLES GM puts hefty price tag on plug-in Volt

develop and manufacture commercial vehicles through the Indian unit of General Motors Co. in the local market.

“The collaboration is to be finalized shortly,” the two companies said in a statement, without quantifying the size of the deal. US auto giant General Motors already has an equal partnership with SAIC in China.

“The tie up will give GM India access to mini-commercial vehicles and other products from the stable of GM’s joint ventures in China, which will be produced at GM India’s Talegaon and Halol plants alongside GM’s portfolio of models for India and global markets,” the Indian company said.

“We can respond faster to the evolving domestic market than ever before. It will also create more employment opportunities locally and generate additional revenues from exports,” said Karl Slym, president and managing director, GM India.

The parent company sees greater reliance on alliances and partnerships to drive industry growth, according to Nick Reilly, GM executive vice president and president of GM International Operations. “GM and SAIC have created one of the world's most successful automotive industry partnerships in China and cooperation in Korea. We look forward to bringing our model for success to India, which is one of the world’s most vibrant emerging vehicle markets, ” Reilly added.

GM-SAIC alliance together makes the second largest automaker in China. Tata Motors and Maruti Suzuki India are the biggest commercial vehicle and passenger car makers by sales in India.