TVS Suzuki chairman Venu Srinivasan (left) shared the dais with Bajaj Auto managing director Rajiv Bajaj (right) at a SIAM convention, even as their companies were at loggerheads over a patent infringement issue. Brijmohan Lal Munjal (centre), chairman of Hero Honda Motors, was also present at the annual meet in New Delhi on Wednesday. (PTI)

New Delhi, Sept. 5: The slowdown in the automobile industry has failed to put brakes on the expansion plans of four-wheeler and two-wheeler companies.

Mahindra & Mahindra, for example, has invested $6-7 million in developing its new army off-roader Axe. The company plans to sell the vehicle to the Indian and Israeli defence forces.

“The vehicle is being tested by the Israeli army and will soon be tried by the Indian Army,” said Pawan Goenka, president (automotive sector) of M&M, on the sidelines of the SIAM annual convention here. He said the commercial production of the vehicle would start once the company received the order from the defence forces.

Japanese car manufacturer Honda said it was planning to launch two models in India, including its popular hatchback, the Jazz, which would mark the company's entry into the small car segment in the country. “We are still two years away from launching a small car in India, but have zeroed in on the Jazz along with another model to mark our foray into the small car segment,” said Jnaneswar Sen, senior general manager (marketing) of Honda Siel.

Sen said the company would soon launch an upgraded variant of its popular sedan the Honda City. “It will be more expensive than the existing ones,” he added.

The company expects a double-digit growth in the current fiscal and hopes to sell 65,000-70,000 units against 60,000 units last year.

The Japanese company’s two-wheeler venture, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI), plans to roll out three to four models in the next three years and will invest Rs 400 crore in new product development and capacity expansion. “Our plan is to introduce about 3-4 models, including a 100cc bike, in the next three years in the Indian market,” said Shinji Aoyama, president and CEO of HMSI.