There seems to be a new urgency in Honda’s plans for the Indian market. Honda Cars India president and CEO Takashi Nakajima has announced that the car maker will roll out more than 10 new models over the next four years or so up to 2030. Never before in its nearly three decades in India has there been such a flurry of car launches from the company, which has been bringing out new cars at a rate of about one in a couple of years or so considering only the entirely new models, model changes and major updates.
Honda has been slow to react to the market shift from sedans and hatchbacks to SUVs of all shapes and sizes, and partly as a consequence of that has lost significant market share in the country. Currently, much of the production of its Indian plant is exported. But the domestic market is a big enough opportunity to focus on, particularly since it used to have a much bigger slice of it till not that long ago. India has also been identified as one of Honda’s three priority markets for its growth plans, the other two being Japan and the North America.
Among the new models will be a full electric vehicle in the second half of the ongoing financial year, Nakajima has said. There will also be a compact SUV to get into one of the fastest growing segments of the market. Last week, the first two of the six launches planned for 2026-27 were rolled out. They are a new version of the popular hybrid sedan City that will start at ₹12 lakh, and the premium SUV ZR-V, for which Honda is yet to announce the price although bookings have opened.
Earlier, Honda Motor Company, the parent of HCIL, had announced that it would start introducing models tailored to the Indian market from 2028 and leverage on its two-wheeler business to upgrade customers to passenger vehicles as part of rebuilding of its automobile business and the future direction. The company has positioned India along with North America and Japan as priority markets for its future growth strategy and decided to strategically allocate its resources to these markets.
From 2028, the company will begin introducing strategic models tailored to the Indian market in two vehicle categories — category for vehicles under 4 metres in length and the mid-size category. However, the sub-4m segment will not include hatchbacks but remain in the domain of compact SUVs. These could include fully imported global models as well. As for the powertrains, Honda says they will span internal combustion engine (ICE) to hybrids to battery electric vehicles.
The ZR-V is one of the bigger SUVs. Being brought in as a fully-built import it will also attract high levies. And while it is a pretty advanced vehicles with lots of bells and whistles, it will also be pricey. Taking a cue from its price in other markets, after conversion and adding on the import duty, it is likely to sell for above ₹40 lakh in India. It will come with a 2-litre petrol engine and a combined petrol plus electric power output of 184hp.
The City facelift is largely cosmetic and contemporises the look with the newly designed DRL and bumper and an update for the infotainment and certain other features.
On the whole, Honda’s renewed push is good news for the car buyer. The company has always pushed the envelope in terms of technology and driver engagement. We have our fingers crossed.