Over 25,000 owners of Opel Astra, the car that General Motors India discontinued, do not have to worry about spare parts.

GMI has written to all existing customers of the erstwhile premium mid-size car, assuring them spare parts availability till 2010. The production of the car was stopped after GMI launched the premium mid-size car Chevrolet Optra in July 2003.

The company is also in talks with business process outsourcing companies to set up a call centre to handle queries related to its products as part of a major drive to improve customer services, Amit Dutta, vice-president (marketing, sales and aftersales) of the company told Business Standard.

"We have informed all the customers of Opel Astra that we will provide them spares till 2010. For this, we have kept sufficient stocks of all kinds of components," Dutta said.

GMI has also offered the Astra owners an exchange offer for their car with a Chevrolet Optra. They can also avail of a free optional warranty of 20,000 km as a loyalty bonus.

The Opel Astra was engineered by German automaker Opel AG, a subsidiary of the US-based General Motors Corporation.

Dutta said GMI has no plans to introduce the all-new Opel Astra car, which has witnessed good sales after its launch in Europe last year.

On the proposed call centre, he said talks were on with some vendors and a final decision was likely to be taken by June 2004.

"It will be a one-stop centre to handle all queries such as emergency breakdowns, products, showrooms etc," Dutta added.

GMI would also start an internal training programme for its dealers across the country to improve their quality and enhance their customer responsiveness. An extensive programme for showrooms would also be initiated, including setting up separate Chevrolet corners to showcase the legacy of the brand, he said.

Dutta said the number of dealerships would be increased from over 60 at present to nearly 100 by this year-end.

The company has upped its focus on the Chevrolet brand, which Dutta said, is expected to contribute more to GMI's vehicle sales, especially after the launch of the multi utility vehicle Chevrolet Tavera next month.