GM to quit selling cars in India, S Africa

DETROIT: General Motors Co plans to quit selling vehicles in India by the end of this year and will sell operations in South Africa, the latest steps in a strategy of focusing cash and engineering effort on fewer, more profitable markets.

The Detroit automaker said on Thursday it will take a $500 million charge in the second quarter to restructure operations in India, Africa and Singapore.

It will cancel most of a planned $1 billion investment to build a new line of low-cost vehicles in India.

About $200 million of the charge will be a cash expense, GM said.

The moves are expected to save $100 million a year in a sector of GM’s global business that last year lost about $800 million, the company said.— Reuters