Honda to invest Rs1,000 crore for new small-car plant in Rajasthan

Mumbai: Japanese automaker, Honda Motors, plans to introduce a premium hatchback in India in two years time. Honda would be investing Rs1,000 crore for a new manufacturing plant in Rajasthan to roll out the small cars in the domestic market. The company is yet to decide on the pricing of the car.

Honda, which manufactures premium segment vehicles in India through  Honda Siel Cars India wants to cash-in on the growing demand for small cars in the country that account for almost 80 per cent of the total car sales.

In the initial phase Honda will manufacture 60,000 units from the new plant, which is spread across 600-acres in Rajasthan. Production capacity of the plant will be increased to 2 lakh units in the next phase, the company stated.

The car maker has already expanded capacity of its Noida facility in Uttar Pradesh to one lakh units per annum in February 2008  from  60,000 units.

The expansion plans have also led to an expansipon of the Honda dealership from  55 to 80 in 2007. The company  says it will add another 20 dealers in the current fiscal across the country.

The company recently announced the launch of  the eighth generation Honda Accord in India, which will be available in three variants. The premium car has been priced between Rs16.49 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) and Rs18.14 lakh (Also see: Honda Siel Cars launches eighth generation Accord in India)

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