Honda to launch small car earlier than decided!

The small car segment in India seems to have caught fire with the recent launches and developments in the segment. Since the competition is fit for new launches, Honda has rescheduled the launch of its much publicized small car. The car was supposed to be launched early in 2011. However, now the car will reportedly hit the streets by the end of 2010 itself. According to various sources, the car code named 2CV will be launched by year end and could coincide with the launch of Toyota’s Etios. The Honda small car was first displayed in India during the 10th Auto Expo at Delhi.

“We have no such plans, and we believe that 2011 will not be too late to launch the vehicle. Car penetration is still low in the country and there is a lot of space to grow,” said Jnaneswar Sen, vice-president for marketing, Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI)

The small car sales in India seems to be going at a very good rate with around 10,000 and 5,000 bookings for the Ford Figo and the Volkswagen Polo. Since the launch of the Chevvy Beat earlier in January, more than 13,000 cars have been sold. Nissan has also reported that it will launch its small car christened Micra soon in June with a price tag of about Rs. 4 lakh. The Honda small car will reportedly be priced under Rs. 4.5-5 lakh. Honda expects sales figure not much different to its presently selling Honda City. The small car will have 80 percent localized content and will initially be rolled out from the Greater Noida facility. The car however will be produced in Thailand as well.

 

by Motoroids

Honda Accord V6 Launched

Honda Siel Cars India has launched its latest version of flagship sedan Accord 3.5L V6 in the Indian market today. The Accord's V6 3.5-liter i-VTEC engine with 275 PS makes it the most powerful Accord ever built by the company.

The new Accord engine features an advanced Variable Cylinder Management (VCM) system that switches between six-, four-, and three-cylinder combustion depending on the driving conditions and thereby delivering maximum power of 275 PS during six cylinder operation. To achieve the same quietness and smoothness, as when running on all six cylinders, new Active Control Engine Mounts (ACM) and Active Noise Control (ANC) systems have been designed to complement the VCM technology.

The revamped new version boasts of enhanced exterior styling with an electric sunroof and few additional luxury and desirable features based on its customers feedback. It also features Ambient Light and Footlight which accentuates the style and enhances visibility during night driving. In addition, the new Honda Accord is also equipped with two sets of Keyless entry for convenience purpose and also has a provision for mobile phone with bluetooth interface.The Footlight and 2 sets of Keyless entry has also been introduced in the Honda Accord 2.4L MT and AT variants.

The new Accord range will come with a price tag of Rs.18,52,000 for 2.4L MT, Rs.19,27,000 for 2.4L AT and Rs 26,15,000 for 3.5L V6. (ex- showroom, Delhi.)

Source: MOTOROIDS

Honda Siel appoints new President & CEO

Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI) on Monday declared Mr. Takashi Nagai as the next and the 4th President and the CEO of Honda Siel who will take charge from April 1st, 2010. Tagai has replaced Mr. Masahiro Takedagawa, who will now head the company's Canadian operations.
Takashi Nagai has vast experience in the automobile industry, having worked with Honda ventures in different markets, across the globe including America and Europe. From February 2003 to January 2006, Nagai was stationed in Mexico as Director of Honda de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. In February 2006, Nagai was appointed as General Manager, Overseas Operations Office No. 1 of Honda Motor Co. Ltd. looking after North America, South America and European market. In April 2007, Nagai became Executive Vice President, Asian Honda Motor Company Ltd. and a Director of Honda Motor Co. Ltd from June of the same year.

Takedagawa, who has been heading Honda’s Indian joint venture with the Siel Group since April 2005, has been appointed as the president and Director of Honda Canada Inc. During Takedagawa’s tenure in HSCI, the company set up its second manufacturing facility at Tapukara in Rajasthan. His period of leadership saw the company introducing premium sedan Civic and hatchback Jazz in the Indian market.

Discounts of up to Rs 40,000 on Honda Jazz!

When most car manufacturers are presently busy with the price rise trend, Honda Siel seems to be doing exactly the opposite for its Honda Jazz. The Honda Jazz features a 1.2-litre petrol engine and is priced at around Rs 7 lakh (Ex-Showroom Delhi) which is almost equivalent to the price of Honda’s very own City. However, the City features a much powerful 1.5-litre petrol engine along with a more spacious boot and many more goodies which are absent in the Jazz.

Honda Siel had produced as much as 1000 units of the Jazz in December 2009. But, the firm only managed to sell 300 units of the car that month. As a measure to boost the sales of the Jazz, Honda dealers are reportedly offering a discount of almost Rs 40,000 and interest rates of less than 6% on loans for the Honda Jazz. Even though dealers are said to be providing discounts on the car, Honda Siel has not announced any plans to reduce the cost of the Jazz yet.

Honda is developing small car for India

Honda will be launching its small car for the Indian market by mid 2012. The research and development department of the company is currently working on its small car codenamed 2CV. Honda's small car will be manufactured at its factory in Rajasthan and powered by a 1.1 liter engine. The Japanese auto major has officially revealed that all plans of the new small car are going as per schedule. The company is aiming for an affordable price range of around Rs. 4.5 lakh for the 2CV.


According to Takanobu Ito, President and CEO, Honda Motor Corporation, the company had to prioritise the market as selling cars has become very difficult the world over.He revealed that the company's top priority is India and China where it would like to grow as much as possible. He further said that India is a market with great potential though the company does not have any plans for an ultra low-cost car but it believes that it can develop a product to be sold across various customer segment.


Takanobu declined to comment on a likely date for the formal launch of this product. He said that they are currently researching on a small car for India which has to be packaged to meet the requirement of Indian customers. He revealed that this car would be smaller than Honda's Jazz.

Hydrogen cars in slow pace - Honda to enter electric market

Roughly over two years ago, Honda launched the FCX Clarity, the worlds first commercially manufactured and sold hydrogen powered car. The car is commercially available in California. There are many positive sides of using a hydrogen powered car, the main benefit is that its byproduct is only water, and it uses hydrogen which is abundant in our atmosphere.

Honda is seeing slow growth in this market as the number of refuelling stations are limited. Market leading car reviewers, tested the car on all aspects and gave it many positives on comparison to its electric powered green siblings. Electric cars have to be standstill for many hours to be recharged, whereas a hydrogen powered car is just like a conventional car, where you refuel like you do on a normal petrol/diesel car and also travels almost similar distances before the need for refuelling arises again, whereas electric cars are very limited on the distance it covers before it drains out completely.

Governments worldwide should take swift action to encourage more hydrogen refuelling stations. One of the main issues around getting around this is the way the entire world, its economy and etc etc., around the oil industry. Oil has been the main fuel resource up until very recent years and the worlds largest economies depend on their investments in this area for future. There are much more issues around this topic, which puts a lot of pressure on governments on any effort to move away from the use of oil.

Readers: Feel free to comment on this article, to share your thoughts of green solutions, and issues around moving away from oil to alternative energies.