Automobile major Honda is all set to start its second car plant in India at Tapukara, Rajasthan. According to the sources, Honda plant will be operational from March and will manufacture the ‘Mobilio’, the Japanese carmaker’s first MPV in India, which is expected to be launched in April-May, multiple sources told FE. After the launch of the new City sedan in January, the Mobilio will be the second new Honda model to hit Indian roads, followed by the new Jazz in the later part of 2014.
The Mobilio, a compact MPV under 4 metres and based on the Brio and Amaze platforms, will feature a 1.2-litre petrol and a 1.5-litre diesel engine. With prices likely to start at R5-6 lakh, the company expects it to replicate the strong success of the Amaze, Honda’s first model to be offered with a diesel engine in India — the Amaze sold 50,000 units in the first eight months of launch, becoming the fourth top-selling car in the country for a brief period.
“We expect to start production at the Tapukara plant in March, work is going on at a very fast pace,” a Honda Cars India (HCIL) official said, while requesting anonymity.
A second industry source in the know added, “Honda aims to start production of the Mobilio in April and the launch is expected by June. The Jazz will then be launched by the end of the year. The Tapukara plant is expected to make both the Amaze and the Mobilio”.
Responding to an email query, a Honda Cars spokesperson said, “We our aiming to start the assembly operations at HCIL’s Tapukara plant in Rajasthan within the first half of 2014. We have not taken a decision on the models to be produced from that production line”.
Honda’s new Tapukara plant, where affiliate Honda Motorcycle & Scooter already operates a production unit, will almost double Honda’s annual output to about 2.9 lakh units by adding over 1.2-lakh-unit capacity on a single line. Currently, Honda’s Greater Noida plant can make almost 1.7 lakh units a year. the capacity was recently increased by 40% from the original 1.2 lakh units through improved production processes and line extension because of high demand for the Amaze sedan.
src: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/honda-s-second-car-plant-in-india-to-start-ops-in-march/1199895/