Honda unveils plans for small car

Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI) has announced its plans to come up with a second small car in the country after the launch of Jazz in the middle of next year. The announcement comes despite a slowdown in the passenger car industry in India.

The second small car from Honda, to be rolled out from the company's second plant in Rajashthan, is expected to go on stream in the fourth quarter of 2009.

However, according to Bloomberg, Japan's second- largest automaker will delay opening its second car factory in India owing to a slowdown in the market growth.

The news agency, quoting Tokyo-based Honda spokesman Sakae Uruma, says that the company aims to open the Rajasthan plant by October 2010 as against the scheduled opening of 2009.

"We will be launching two small cars in India within the next three to four years," Jnaneswar Sen, vice-president-marketing, HSCI. The first of those--the premium hatchback Jazz--will be rolled out by June-July next year. It will be followed by a smaller car that will be driven by a 1.2 litre petrol engine and is currently under development, said Sen. He added that it will initially be produced at the company's plant in Greater Noida.

The Greater Noida plant is part of Honda's Rs 1,000 crore initial investment in India for setting up a new facility to manufacture small cars focusing on the domestic market. Spread over 600 acres, the facility will have an initial capacity of 60,000 units and could be expanded up to 2.4 lakh units over a period of time.

Honda Siel Cars, on Friday, inaugurated the first phase of its second plant at Tapukara, which comprises a press facility and an advanced power train unit. The facility, which is spread over 150 acres and will eventually employ 500 people, will supply body panels and engine components to HSCI's Greater Noida plant.

The company will also set up an R&D centre in India to focus on market and environmental research and development of local components and material more suited to Indian conditions.