Honda Cars India exports City to Left Hand Drive countries

Honda Cars India (HCIL) on Thursday said that it will export its recently launched 5th Generation Honda City to Left Hand Drive countries in West Asia, dispatching from the Pipavav port in Gujarat and Ennore port in Chennai.

In a first for the company, this marks the beginning of production of Left Hand Drive models in India for exports and reaffirms its commitment to the Government of India’s ‘Make in India’ initiative, the company said in a statement.

HCIL has been exporting the Right Hand Drive models of the all-new City to South Africa since August 2020 and neighbouring countries of Nepal and Bhutan from October 2020.

“Honda City has been the benchmark of sedans in India and addition of exports of its Left Hand Drive model to completely new destinations is a great opportunity for us to strengthen our India business. We have invested in creating an expansive world-class manufacturing facility at Tapukara which can produce both right hand and left hand drive models that allows us to manage demand for domestic and international consumers,” Gaku Nakanishi, President and Chief Executive Officer, HCIL, said.

As a commitment towards ‘Make in India’, HCIL has been manufacturing all its volume models with more than 90 per cent localisation and has been integral in developing a strong ecosystem in the country, he added.

The company has been exporting models including Amaze, WR-V and the City to Nepal, Bhutan and South African countries. The export of 5th Generation Honda City (both right hand and left hand drive) is the newest addition to the export business from India.