DHAKA: General Motors has put on hold a planned $1bn investment in India as it reassesses its strategy in the country.

Its sales in India have fallen nearly 40%, and its share of the passenger vehicle market has also dropped, reports the BBC.

A regulatory crackdown on diesel vehicles has also led the company to rethink its plans.

More than 5,000 new cars are sold in India every day - and it is forecast to be the world's third biggest vehicle market by 2020.

In 2015, Ford committed to investing $1bn in India to boost its domestic market share and make the country a global export hub.

India is among the fastest growing car markets in the world. No wonder then that some of the world's biggest carmakers are investing heavily.

But it’s also not an easy market to crack. General Motors India has still been posting losses two decades after gaining a presence in the country.

India has turned out to be such a difficult market that a former high-ranking GM India employee told me he wouldn’t be surprised if the company closed at least one of its two factories in India.

BDST: 1755 HRS, JUL 25, 2016
RR