Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) will increase production of its newly-launched Amaze sedan in order to cut waiting period, by starting a third shift at its Greater Noida unit from November this year.
The company hopes to reduce to 2-3 months the delivery time for booked cars with the increase in output from the current 4-5 months.
“The demand for Amaze has been so strong and we still continue to have more bookings. In order to reduce the waiting period, we have decided to start a third shift at the Greater Noida plant by November,” HCIL Senior Vice-President Jnaneshwar Sen told PTI.
When asked by how much the output will be increased, he said, “We have not yet arrived at a number as the third shift will be shorter. At present, we are producing a total of 440 cars per day, including the Amaze, at the plant in two shifts,” he said.
The waiting period for the car would come down by two months after the start of the third shift, he added.
The estimated order backlog of Amaze is over 20,000 units and the company has been selling about 5,500 units per month since the model was launched in April this year.
On whether the company is adjusting production of other models to roll out more Amaze, Sen said, “No. Other models are being produced as per our original plans.”
The Japanese firm had launched the entry level sedan Amaze at a price range of Rs 4.99 lakh to Rs 7.60 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).
Helped by Amaze launch, Honda Cars has posted a three-fold jump in domestic sales in June at 9,297 units as against 2,667 units in the same month last year.
The new model, which has been developed keeping in mind the Indian conditions, competes directly with market leader Maruti Suzuki’s Swift Dzire.
Sen said there has been pricing pressure due to the rupee depreciation but the company has not yet decided to increase the price of the Amaze.