 | Chevrolet enjoys a long and distinguished history in Pakistan which pre-dates partition. The first Chevrolets came to British India in the early 1920s, and were sought after by nawabs, maharajas, and the social elite as part of their automobile collections. Chevrolet established an office in pre-partition India in 1928. An office was set up in Bombay with an assembly plant constructed in Sewree. General Motors (GM), Chevrolet’s parent company, was the first automobile company to open an assembly plant in India. Production started in 1928 with the National Series AB Touring. The AB series came with Chevrolet’s well proven and reliable 171 cubic inches, 24.7hp four-cylinder engine. It featured Chevrolet’s first four-wheel mechanical brakes and wooden wheels. In the first year of production, 13,903 GM cars and trucks were built at Sewree, including products from other GM brands. | | Source: GM India The Chevrolet brand quickly proved trustworthy and dependable. As a result, a large amount of Chevrolets were imported between 1918 and 1928. The Chevrolets imported during these years mainly consisted of small four-cylinder Tourers, because they delivered the most impressive fuel economy and were simple to run. Even the Nizam of Hyderabad (Dakkan) – considered the richest man in the world at the time – used Chevrolet Tourers as official cars. | | In 1930, the Indian market became even more competitive as Ford introduced the popular Model A, whose all-steel body made it a great success. Chevrolet replied with a revolutionary six-cylinder engine that developed 46 horsepower. And it was this very car that gave Chevrolet its highest sales in India in 1931. Chevrolet also played its role in the Pakistan movement. Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah – an avid collector of fine automobiles – drove a Chevrolet, and also had other General Motors cars such as Cadillac in his collection (this vehicle is still on display at Mohatta Palace in Karachi). A little known piece of trivia is that Jinnah and Louis Chevrolet shared the same birthday – December 25 th – although Chevrolet was nine years younger than Jinnah. | | After independence, Chevrolet could be found at the highest echelons of society in Pakistan . When Queen Elizabeth II visited Pakistan in the early 1960s, she and then President Ayub Khan toured the key cities of Pakistan in a convertible Chevrolet. In the picture below, Ayub Khan is touring Pakistan with visiting Indian Prime Minister Jawarlal Nehru in another iconic General Motors vehicle, the 1956 Cadillac Eldorado. | | Chevrolets were sold in Pakistan well into the 1970s, after which the automotive regime was changed and Chevrolet gradually withdrew to its home market in the United States . | | | About Nexus Automotive | In 2004, after an absence of three decades, Chevrolet was re-introduced in Pakistan . Once again a global brand with a product line-up suited to developing markets such as Pakistan , Chevrolet has made a successful return to the country. | Working with Nexus Automotive, General Motors’ partner in Pakistan , Chevrolet can once again be seen on roads all over the country. M.A. Razaq, Chairman and major shareholder of Nexus Automotive, is a retired Vice President and Corporate Officer of General Motors Corporation. At General Motors, Mr. Razaq served on the GM European Strategy Board, GM International Strategy Board, Board of Avis Europe plc, Board of Directors of SAAB Automobile AB ( Sweden ), and the Supervisory Board of Adam Opel AG ( Germany ), one of the twenty largest corporations in Germany . The management team of Nexus Automotive has several hundred years of collective experience in automotive and engineering industries. Nexus Automotive Pvt. Limited is a Pak-Saudi joint venture. | | Chevrolet Assembly at Port Qasim, Karachi | Today, Nexus Automotive assembles the 1000cc Chevrolet Joy at Port Qasim (Sindh), and imports a broader line-up of cars, including Aveo, Optra, and Colorado (coming soon) from the General Motors global network. | | |  | | Sources: Nexus Automotive |
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