Honda, VW unveil plans for India

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Tokyo, Oct 24: The Indian car market is poised for exciting times with global majors like Japan’s Honda Motor Co and Europe’s Volkswagen firming up plans to launch newer models to beef up their portfolio.

At the ongoing Tokyo Motor Show on Wednesday, both companies unveiled plans for the Indian market.

While Honda said that it was mulling a small diesel car for India, Volkswagen said it would introduce new models, including the recently launched up! concept.

“Eventually, it might be that we will consider a compact size diesel for the Indian market and we are studying such possibilities now,” Takeo Fukui, Honda Motor president & CEO told visiting Indian reporters.

Currently, Tata Motors dominates the diesel market in small cars with its Indica model, while domestic leader Maruti Suzuki has also started selling a diesel version of its hatchback Swift with a 1.3-litre engine.

Korean Hyundai, the third-biggest carmaker in India, has also launched a diesel version of its Getz hatchback.

Meanwhile, Volkswagen’s up! is a new mini car concept introduced at the Frankfurt Motor Show. “We are looking at the up! for the Indian market and it will be introduced by 2010,” company board member Ulrich Hackenberg confirmed on the sidelines of the motor show in Tokyo.