Honda Considering Small Car For India

He says the company's COO for Asia and Ocenia region Noriaki Abe is serious about this small car plan and is looking to develop a business strategy for this segment. Hachigo also says their focus is on products rather than volumes and doesn't want to bring products similar to Maruti Suzuki. Instead the products should be uniquely Honda like the BR-V compact SUV which gets into a highly competitive segment.

Also Read: Honda BR-V Compact SUV to Be Launched in 2016

Hachigo says "India is a big country with a large population and motorization will grow even more significantly. Heading towards 2020, the key will be how many products we can come up with that the Indian customers would like. But rather than trying to estimate the volumes we believe that it is more important to focus on what kind of products will be welcomed by the Indian market and therefore we are seriously considering such type of products and if we have such competitive products this would determine the volumes therefore instead of predicting, trying to estimate the volumes, we would rather focus on our products."

He mentions that India is a critical market for global operations and is looking to increase development capabilities from the domestic operations. Honda says a larger export plan from the Indian car plants will have to wait until they improve the overall competitiveness of the products.