India auto industry update (Part 4): Honda in India

As a provider of dealer management systems to vehicle dealerships in several emerging markets, we closely follow what is happening in the auto industry in key regions around the world. I thought it might be interesting to share some of that information.

The Indian auto market is growing strongly, and the compact car segment is expanding the fastest: it already accounts for 75% of the 1.5 million annual auto sales in India.

The current leaders in the Indian small car segment are Suzuki Maruti (Swift, Maruti 800, and WagonR models), Hyundai (Santro) and local manufacturer Tata Motors (Indica). Maruti owns an incredible 50% of the entire Indian auto market.

      

Honda in India

Honda, as you may know, is Japan's second-largest car maker. Like many of the other majors, Honda also plans to launch a new India-specific small car, to be built starting in 2009. This new car may borrow a few elements from models currently sold in western markets, and Honda may even use one of their current platforms to minimize costs.

This car will compete in the premium small car segment in India, which is also where Volkswagen's upcoming and as yet unnamed offering hopes to make a splash. Some speculate Honda's new compact for India will be similar to their Jazz model.

Honda plans to double production capacity at its local auto unit (Honda Siel Cars), to 100,000 by the end of 2007. They will also invest $245 million dollars in a second manufacturing unit in western India that will have an annual capacity of 60,000 units. More info here.

   

"With the proposed plant we plan to foray into the volume segment - the compact-car segment," said Honda CEO Masahiro Takedagawa. "We plan to manufacture two models from the plant ... one model will be a new small car and the second will be from our existing lineup."

Today, Honda offers four models in India:

• City Z
• Civic. Honda rolled out an Indian version of the Civic in July of last year, and hopes to sell more than 150,000 units annually by 2010.
• Accord. Honda's high-end sedan in India.
• CRV

India's auto market is extremely price conscious, however Honda's cars in India are premium-priced. For example, the high-end Accord sedan costs 17 percent more than the top of the range Hyundai Sonata Embera.

Posts in this series:

• Part 1: Overview
• Part 2: GM in India
• Part 3: VW in India
• Part 4: Honda in India
• Part 4b: Honda in India, two-wheelers
• Part 5: Ford in India
• Part 6: Renault-Nissan in India
• Part 7: Maruti Suzuki in India
• Part 8: Hyundai in India
• Part 9: Toyota in India
• Part 10: Tata Motors in India

Tags: India, auto industry, automotive industry, India auto industry, Honda, Honda Siel Cars, Honda in India, Masahiro Takedagawa

Powered by Qumana

Comments

[Lightening_speed]

An action packed Suzuki Grand Vitara!

Indian auto industry is indeed going through a sea of change. SUVs which were thought to be the American fixation, is slowly but steadily entering Indian mindsets. Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 have been doing quite well. But it seems its Suzuki has caught the nerve of Indian audience. The company is about to launch Suzuki Grand Vitara sometimes next month – a car that is anything but the Idea Indian SUV.

Grand Vitara masters two compelling opposites: on-road manners and off-road ability. Thus giving more out of one single car. Exactly what an Indian looks for each time he is out shopping. The car is endowed with features full-time four-wheel drive with a locking center differential makes it a tough player at rugged terrains. And its unibody structure makes it an ideal city car. A car to watch out for!