Honda Cars India on Tuesday said the company will invest Rs 2,500 crore at its Tapukara (Rajasthan) plant by next year to build a new assembly line for cars with an annual capacity of 1.20 lakh units.

The company will have an installed capacity of 2.40 lakh units a year then, with similar numbers coming from its Greater Noida facility.

The capacity expansion will also include a new diesel engine component production and a forging plant.

The new assembly line and forging plant are scheduled to be ready by 2014 and is expected to generate fresh employment of 2,200 people at the start of production. The Rajasthan plant has 1,400 employees right now.

The new diesel engine component production line with manpower of 265 employees has just begun mass production of the critical engine components for the i-DTEC engine such as manufacturing of cylinder head, cylinder block, crankshaft and connecting rod.

“With addition of diesel power, the universe in which we operate will increase to around 50 per cent of the total passenger vehicle market over the next few years,” Hironori Kanayama, President and Chief Executive Officer, Honda Cars India, said.

Amaze launch on April 11

The company is going to launch its first diesel car, Amaze in India on April 11, for which it has opened bookings since Monday, he said.

Meanwhile, to strengthen its team of leaders, Honda Cars India has also appointed Yoshiyuki Matsumoto as Managing Officer, Honda Motor Company as Representative of Development, Purchasing and Production in Asia and Oceania Region.

The company also unveiled its 1.5L i-DTEC diesel engine, which will run the Amaze that would give 25.8 km per litre.

>ronendrasingh.s@thehindu.co.in

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