Honda to launch small car in India

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New Delhi: So do you like a bit of slow and soothing Jazz? Or would you prefer living Life kingsize?

Well it could be a toss up between either even as Honda announces plans to launch a mid-segment car in India.

Honda Motor President and CEO, Takeo Fukui said on Tuesday that the company is scouting for a location for a new greenfield plant in India to expand capacity and part of their plans include launching a B-segment car.

Honda is said to be mulling investments of an estimated $200 million for the new plant.

Currently the company is doubling capacity at its Greater Noida plant to 1,00,000 units at an investment of Rs 400 crore.

Honda has a partnership with the Shrirams in India, though it holds as much as around 99 per cent in the joint venture Honda Siel Cars India.

After the success of Accord, Civic and City, Honda plans to make the small-car the pillar of its global model strategies. In his year-end address in Tokyo, Fukui said the company was aiming to produce and sell more than 1,50,000 cars in India annually by the end of 2010.

Jazz

• Launched in 2001, Jazz is sold in 60 countries worldwide. It can seat five people, has a 1.3-litre twin-spark four-cylinder engine, has both manual and automatic transmission. The car has five doors.

Life

• Life is a four-door hatchback with a 660-cc engine. Its engine capacity could, however, be a restricting factor for Honda to look at it seriously.

(With inputs from PTI)