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Calcutta, July 14: Japanese auto major Honda plans to launch a small car with a 1.2-litre petrol engine in the second half of 2011. The base model will be priced just below Rs 5 lakh.
“At present, we are developing the car in Japan and it will be produced in India at our Noida factory initially,” Jnaneswar Sen, vice-president (marketing) of Honda Siel Cars India Ltd, said here today.
The company showcased the concept model at the Delhi Auto Expo in January.
A higher version is not on the anvil as only small cars with sub-1.2 litre engines get excise duty breaks.
“We will not launch any diesel version of the car as we do not have the technology with us globally,” Sen said.
Honda also has no plans to bring any LPG or CNG versions of the small car.
Over 80 per cent of the components for the small car will be sourced locally.
The local contents for Honda’s Jazz, City, Civic and the Accord are 77 per cent, 76 per cent, 74 per cent and 28 per cent, respectively.
Honda, which expects a double-digit growth this year, plans to start its second assembly unit in Rajasthan once the Noida facility achieves full capacity utilisation.
The company produces around 60,000 cars annually in the Noida factory that can 100,000 units per annum.
Sen declined to give any timeline for the Rajasthan unit.
Honda is expanding its dealer network before the launch of the small car.
“The small car will drive the volume. We need to be prepared for that. This is the year of preparation and consolidation for us,” Sen said.
Micra price
Japan’s Nissan today announced its entry in the compact car segment with the launch of the Micra, priced between Rs 3.98 lakh and Rs 5.29 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).