GM India recalling 4,000 Sail cars due to potential engine issue

Reuters
Lowell Paddock, president and managing director of General Motors India, speaks during the launch of Chevrolet Sail U-VA car in New Delhi November 2, 2012. REUTERS/B Mathur/Files

REUTERS - General Motors Co. (NYS:GM - News) said on Tuesday it was recalling 4,000 of its Chevrolet Sail diesel variant cars in India to address a potential engine issue.

The company's Indian unit, General Motors India, did not give details of the potential engine issue, but said the incident was not related to safety or its recall of Chevrolet Tavera sports utility vehicles earlier.

In July, GM recalled 114,000 of its Tavera vehicles built between 2005 and 2013. It had earlier halted production and sale of the Tavera BS3 and Tavera BS4 models. BS3 and BS4 refer to emission standards in India.

General Motors fired several employees after an internal probe into the Tavera recall uncovered "violations of company policy".

The company has restarted production and sales of the diesel variants of Chevrolet Sail, which were stopped on June 3, General Motors India said in statement on Tuesday.

It is now awaiting approval for a technical solution to the emission issue to restart Tavera production and sale, the company statement said, adding that the approval was expected soon.

(Reporting by Harichandan Arakali in Bangalore; Editing by Jijo Jacob)