Honda to 'Amaze' India with diesel car?
Better late than never -- that's the philosophy which Japanese auto major Honda Motor Co is adopting as it gears up to launch its first diesel model Amaze by next fiscal in India, a market which it admits to have neglected in the past.
Apart from considering a sports utility vehicle on its premium hatchback Jazz platform, using the same 1.5 litre engine that will power the entry level sedan Amaze, R&D officials of the company said they are also working on smaller diesel engines keeping in mind the Indian market.
"The Indian market was low on priority in the past. We used to focus on the US and Japan, and in the last 10 years on China. Now the emerging market is India and Honda has changed its mindset to focus on India," Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) CEO and President Hironori Kanayama said here.
With the demand for diesel vehicles growing in India, he said it was high time the company entered the segment.
"The trend for diesel vehicles is getting stronger and stronger with the increase in petrol price in India. Honda was late in focusing on the segment but now we have started on it. Amaze is the first step and is a very significant product for us," he said.
The entry level sedan Amaze qualifies for the excise duty benefit, enjoyed by small cars in India and will directly take on Maruti Suzuki's Swift DZiRE, the current undisputed segment leader.
At present, any car with a petrol engine capacity under 1,200
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