Chevrolet, a subsidiary of General Motors (GM), was once a thriving passenger vehicle brand in India. The American brand had an extensive lineup in India but the Spark was one of the most popular models. Many Indian families adopted the cute little hatchback as their daily commuter.
However, the car got discontinued when GM quit the domestic passenger vehicle market. The Spark remained a popular nameplate as GM continued to export the micro hatch from India for the next five years. Now, Chevrolet has brought back the Spark in a completely different avatar.
Chevrolet Spark EUV Activ: What is it?
GM has unveiled the Spark EUV Activ in Brazil, a fully-electric subcompact electric SUV. As soon as one looks at the images, it becomes very evident that it is a familiar model. Keen automotive readers can easily guess that this model is nothing but a rebadged Baojun Yep Plus which is a product from SAIC in China.
SAIC is one of China’s leading state-owned automotive brands. It has a strategic partnership with the renowned American brand General Motors and another Chinese state-owned brand, Wuling. Together, they form SAIC-GM-Wuling, a conglomerate that jointly owns the Baojun brand and offers a range of badge-engineered vehicles.
Barring the Chevy badge and logo, everything else is borrowed from the China-spec Baojun Yep Plus. It carries over the boxy profile of the Yep Plus with a flat roofline and upright pillars. Attributes such as the block pattern LED headlights, squared-off wheel arches, roof rails, vertical LED taillights, a flat tailgate, and short overhangs are borrowed from its smaller 3-door sibling— the Baojun Yep. Overall, the Spark EUV looks like a miniature Land Rover Defender.
Besides the looks, the Spark EUV Activ also shares the same powertrain as its Chinese twin. This means that the Spark is powered by a single, electric motor mounted on the rear axle which dishes out 75 kW (101 bhp). This motor draws energy from a 41.9 kWh battery pack which claims an estimated peak range of 401 km as per the CLTC cycle. The subcompact electric SUV can clock a top speed of 150 kmph.
Inside the cabin, the Spark EUV Activ gets a dual screen setup featuring a 10.2-inch touchscreen infotainment system and a 10.2-inch digital instrument console that run on the KIOS user interface. Other features include a 360-degree camera, automated parking assist, and an ADAS suite developed by DJI.
Chevrolet Spark EUV Activ: Will it come to India?
Yes, this vehicle might land up in India in the future but definitely not as the Chevrolet Spark EUV. SAIC is a key automotive player in India since it operates in the country through MG Motor India. The latter has plans for launching a subcompact electric SUV in India in the future. In fact, the Baojun Yep and Yep Plus are based on the SAIC’s Global Small Electric Vehicle (GSEV) platform which also underpins MG Comet EV.
This architecture has been significantly localised for the Indian market and is likely to be utilised for newer models in the future. MG is reportedly working on another entry-level EV codenamed E260. Hence, there’s a strong possibility that we may get this vehicle in India weaning the MG badge in the next couple of years.
