The Hindu Business Line : Honda to drive E20 cars into India this year

New Delhi, Jan. 18 After roll outs in countries like Thailand over the last 2-3 months, Honda Motor Co will introduce its 20 per cent ethanol compatible cars in India in the current calendar year.

Honda Siel Cars India, the Indian subsidiary of the Japanese company, will also launch a new Accord and a variant of its sports utility vehicle CRV.

“Even as the Government is considering making E10 mandatory by October, we will be producing our E20 cars in India by December 2008. With the progressive technology we are trying to protect the investments made by the customers in our products,” said Mr Jnaneshwar Sen, Senior General Manager, Sales and Marketing, Honda Siel Cars India.

At present, Honda has cars that are suitable for 10 per cent ethanol blend in petrol. Earlier, Maruti Suzuki had also indicated that it would make its cars E10 compatible by the year-end to comply with the changing regulations.

Honda Siel that saw a 2.17 per cent decline during April-December cumulative sales at 42,365 units expects new launches and increased capacity to boost sales.

The company is expanding its facility at Greater Noida by 50,000 units to one lakh. Honda Siel that would also launch its Hybrid Civic during the year expects to get homologation clearance over the coming 2-3 months.

“The segment for cars priced around Rs 19-20 lakh is not so large. But Civic Hybrid will give 60 per cent more mileage. More than the volumes, we believe it is in direction of our theme, nature rides with Honda,” he added.

Commenting on the new variant of CRV that will co-exist with the existing one, the company said that it would be equipped with a 2-litre engine as compared to the current 2.4 litre engine. In case of the new Accord, it will replace the existing model with six airbags and would be more expensive and fuel-efficient, said Mr Sen.

Next year, Honda will begin production of its premium hatchback from its new facility at Rajasthan.