Honda Cars India Ltd is planning to introduce four new models in the country by 2015, said the company on Wednesday.
Buoyed by the success of its Amaze diesel sedan, Honda is also planning to include to introduce more diesel models. The proposed new models include a seven seater Multi Purpose Vehicle, a compact Sports Utility Vehicle, an upgraded Jazz and an upgraded premium sedan City, said Jnaneswar Sen, Honda Cars India Ltd, Senior Vice-President (Sales and Marketing).
"We are planning to launch four more models. We will start with next generation Jazz, two new models in new segments-- a seven seater MPV and a compact SUV and an upgraded City," Sen said.
Honda, which currently sells premium hatchback Brio, mid-size sedan Amaze, premium sedan City, premium SUV CRV and luxury sedan Accord in India, has sold 16,000 units of the Amaze sedan since its launch in April. According to the company, the diesel variant of Amaze contributed a major share to the overall sales. With more models in the same category, Honda aims to increase its share in the passenger car market to 50 percent.
"For quite some time, we only operated in 10 per cent of the Indian passenger car market as we had only petrol models. With more diesel models on the way, we hope to increase this to 50 per cent in the next two years," said Hironori Kanayama, President and CEO, HCIL.
Honda has been registering good sales even when the domestic auto market witnessed a slumped growth. According to the company, it recorded a sales growth 35 percent with 73,483 units in 2012-13. The company also said the demand for its Amaze is high in all cities including Tier-II and Tier-III circles.
"I would roughly say our sales are equally divided between Tier-I, Tier-II and Tier-III cities. We are trying very hard to increase the production of Amaze and match the demand, but we don't see a reduction in waiting period right away," said Kanayama.
