Honda Cars India Ltd will begin production at its Rajasthan plant in the next financial year.
According to Shigeru Yamazaki, Senior Vice-President and Director, Marketing and Sales, it will also launch five new models by 2015.
The company, which has invested Rs 2,500 crore on the plant at Tappugada in Alwar district of Rajasthan, is already manufacturing various components.
Its capacity will be the same, 440 cars or 120,000 units per annum, as that of the existing plant at Greater Noida.
The plant procures 80-90 of components from local vendors, and has begun exporting its products. Last year, it exported Honda Brio to South Africa.
Yamazaki said Honda India, which sold 73,000 units last fiscal, is expecting to utilise full capacity of the Greater Noida plant soon with increased demand. In 2012-13, the company had witnessed a 35 per cent growth, which it expects to continue.
While launching the family sedan Honda Amaze here, he said the company has introduced this diesel car for the first time in India. So far, Honda was selling diesel cars only in Europe.
Amaze has been developed at Honda R&D Asia Pacific Company Ltd, Bangkok (Thailand). India is the first country to launch Amaze with Honda’s latest i-DTEC diesel engine technology.
The company is increasing the number of dealers from 150 to 162 across India this year to promote the sale of Amaze whose target buyers seem to be middle-income and middle-aged businessmen.
The company is now focusing on tier-2 and tier-3 towns and cities for its new, prospective buyers.