Honda to go all guns blazing in India, plans SUV offensive and local production boost

Honda Cars India Ltd. (HCIL) is planning to go all guns blazing in the Indian passenger vehicle market. The Japanese carmaker, despite being present in the Indian market for a long time, owns a minuscule market share of about 2%. The automaker is now aiming to boost its market share significantly, and for that, it is planning to launch 10 new cars in the country by 2030. Among these, there will be 7 new SUVs, and at least one of them will be a sub-four metre SUV.

The company's presence in India is challenged by the market dominance of SUVs, as Honda's portfolio is heavily weighted towards sedans. The automaker sells Amaze, City and Elevate in India currently, among which City is the bestselling model. Now, Honda is planning to emphasise the SUV segment with a major product offensive.

(Also read: Honda to launch a massive product offensive, 10 new cars on cards by 2030)

Honda may invest significantly in India

A key part of the automaker's new product strategy for the Indian market will focus on local manufacturing. On the sidelines of the Japan Mobility Show 2025, speaking to HT Auto, Takashi Nakajima, President and CEO of HCIL, said that the majority of the upcoming 10 cars in the country will be designed and developed keeping the Indian consumers in mind. While there will be some global models in the product strategy, the offensive will be spearheaded by the made-in-India cars. This means the carmaker may have to ramp up its production capacity in India.

HCIL's current annual production capacity in India is 180,000 units per annum. This capacity is concentrated at its single, integrated manufacturing facility in Tapukara, Rajasthan. While Nakajima has not revealed anything about the future strategy, the company may add more production lines at the capacity to expand its annual volume, which would be highly important to cater to the increasing volume and demand.

Nakajima added that the company is focusing on an increased level of R&D in India, with the main aim to minimise operational costs and boost local production.

India to play key role in Honda's global strategy

Nakajima has said that India will play a key role in the global growth strategy of the auto company. As he said, the company is focusing significantly on North America, Japan, and India for its overall global growth. The new model launch is one key part of that. “As the Indian car market is expanding, we are able to identify the segments growing, so we can focus on the products and segments,” he added.