Honda mulls developing small car in India

Plans to launch three new models by next fiscal end

Japanese automaker Honda Motor Company, on Wednesday, said it aimed to sell about three lakh units in India in the next three years. In addition, the company saw its market share in the country increasing by up to 5 per cent this year on the back of good response for its sedan Amaze.

The Tokyo-headquartered company is also mulling over fully developing a small car in India, besides launching three new models by the end of 2014-15.

Honda Cars India Pvt. Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Honda Motor Co, sold 73,000 units last year in India.

Aims to sell 3 lakh units

“In the coming three years, through the models that we’ll be launching, we aim to sell three lakh units in India. In the whole of Asia, we aim to sell 12 lakh units, half of which will come from India and Indonesia combined,” Honda Motor India President and CEO Yoshiyuki Matsumoto said here.

“We believe, India is globally one of the fastest growing markets. In April, we launched Amaze… resulting in a big boost to our market share. Last year, our share was 2-3 per cent, this year it is getting close to 4-5 per cent ,” he added. Mr. Matsumoto said the company would be expanding its product portfolio, and would launch three new models, including the multi purpose vehicle (MPV) Mobilio. “With this, we hope to increase our share,” he said. In India, cars which have three rows, were growing along with the SUV segment, he added.

On developing small car in India, Mr. Matsumoto said, “Yes, we do feel India is a large market for small cars. And developing a small car fully in India is being considered.”

On the motorcycle market, he said, “India is on its way to become the world’s largest market for motorcycles, maintaining a certain level of market share in that market is important for us. From several years ago in this market, Honda is doing business on its own. We believe our share is about 25 per cent.”

Honda Motor Company Managing officer Hiroshi Kobayashi said, “This year putting India and Indonesian market combined, we are producing 8.5 million units of motorcycles. If you’ll look at this comparing to Honda’s overall sales, which is 15 million units, India and Indonesia take over 50 per cent, and if you compare with the Asia market, which is 13 million units, India and Indonesia take about 60 per cent. Our production in the coming three years from India and Indonesia put together, we will probably produce and market 10 million units of motorcycles.”

Unveils Vezel

Meanwhile, Honda Motor Co, on Wednesday, unveiled the planned production model — the Vezel — at the Tokyo Motor Show here.

“This is a completely new model, that belongs to a new category of automobiles, that fuses together multifaceted values at high level, including the dynamic qualities of an SUV, the elegance of a coupe and the functionality of a minivan,” the company said.

(The correspondent is in Tokyo at the invitation of the company)