The Hindu Business Line : Honda Siel Cars to decide on new plant location within a year

Honda Siel Cars India Ltd has started scouting for sites for another manufacturing plant, a decision on which is expected in a year, according to senior company officials.

It is looking for a location in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat and has held discussions with government officials in some of these States, according to them.

According to Mr Hiroshi Shimizu, Director - Marketing, Honda Siel Cars India, the company expects to reach a production of one lakh units a year by 2007, three years ahead of the company's original target.

It will take at least a year for the company to decide on the location, according to Mr N.K. Goila, Vice President and Director - Administration.

It is expected that the new plant will be ready in time for the launch of a hatchback from the company. Mr Shimizu and Mr Goila were here to launch the Civic, the premium sedan from Honda Siel Cars. The company has received 1,700 bookings in the six days since the car was launched.

Mr Shimizu told Business Line that the company did not believe in spending a lot on marketing and added that most of its efforts would be through maximising test drives.

Customer loyalty was a key to Honda's sales, he said, for which the company too ensured that the value of the products was not diminished. "We hold the price line and there is no discount on price," he said. It was Honda's policy not to offer discounts to push sales as such a strategy lowered the image of the product.