Honda will begin its operations at its second plant in India at Tapukara district in Rajasthan from the first quarter of 2013. The Japanese carmaker realised increased demand post the launch of the Amaze, especially the diesel engined variants. Honda is expecting the same demand for their future lineup of diesel powered cars like the City sedan and Mobilio MPV. The work at the second plant is at full swing, so that Honda is ready on time to meet the increased demand. The Tapukara plant will become the manufacturing base for the Amaze and the upcoming Mobilio MPV, the latter set for an April launch.
The 2014 Honda City was globally unveiled on the 24th of November and will be launched in January 2014. Honda will begin the new year realising that the City itself will be met with good demand considering the immense changes brought about in the new generation model and also the addition of a diesel engine. The MPV segment in India is also at a high and so the Brio based Mobilio MPV will also have to do justice to the demand. It will feature a 1.5-litre petrol engine and the 1.5-litre i-DTEC diesel engine doing the rounds on the Amaze.
The current Honda plant in Greater Noida had an initial capacity of 1.2 lakh units until it was increased recently to 1.7 units annually. The second plant should add another 1.2 lakh units. After focussing on the City and Mobilio for the first half of the year, Honda will then shift focus to the updated Jazz by the year end. The new Honda Vezel, a compact SUV will however see a late entry in India. The Vezel was showcased at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show and will begin sales in Japan soon. Despite the crazy demand in the Indian market for compact SUVs, Honda is forced to delay the launch due to high demand from other models.
