Honda's global line-up makes its mark in India

27 August 2008

Honda Siel Cars India recently crossed the 3-lakh sales milestone in India. The Japanese automaker launched a limited edition sport variant of its premium executive sedan —  the Honda Civic, to mark its sales performance. By Tanmoy Mitra

Mumbai: With more than a decade of its presence in the country and a total investment of over Rs1,600 crore, Japanese carmaker Honda has proved its mettle in the premium car segment in India. The company is now investing an additional Rs1,000 crore for a new manufacturing plant in Rajasthan to roll out small cars in the domestic market.

Honda Siel Cars India Ltd, (HSCI) was incorporated in December 1995 as a joint venture between Japanese car maker Honda Motor Co Ltd, and Siel Limited, a Siddharth Shriram Group company. In 2008 Honda Siel Cars' mid-size, lower D and luxury products are owned by 3 lakh customers in the country.

The company is in no mood to relinquish its strong foothold in the expanding domestic market in India. As part of its expansion plan, Honda is introducing more products from its global line-up, including the newly launched Honda Civic Hybrid  (See: Honda launches its first hybrid in India, Civic Hybrid),  the first hybrid on  Indian roads.

In 2008 Honda sold 36,849 cars in India, between January to July, up from 36,759 units in the corresponding period last year, an increase of 0.2 per cent.

With more dealerships in 2008 to cater to the new launches of Honda's latest passenger car models and technologies, the Indian customer won't be starved for choice.

A brief  look at the new launches.

Honda Civic Sport
The Honda Civic sports variant was showcased at the 9th Auto Expo in January in New Delhi this year and had received an overwhelming response from visitors.