The country's largest two-wheeler maker Hero Honda on Tuesday said its erstwhile Japanese promoter Honda Motor Co has exited the company completely after selling its 26 per cent stake to a group firm of the Indian promoter family.
Honda Motor Corporation of Japan plans to synergise Indian and Thailand operations to capitalise on the free trade agreement between the two countries and will continue investing in India, a top company official said on Friday.
Network scale seen as central to tapping smaller markets.
Hero Honda Motors, India's biggest motorcycle maker, on Wednesday said sales grew 31.5 per cent at 1,91,635 units in August 2004 over 1,45,730 units in the same month last year.
The company said it will use the vendor base of its two-wheeler business in India to make the car price competitive.
According to media reports, while Honda is planning to sell 20 per cent stake to the other promoter, Munjal family of the Hero Group, it is looking at selling 6 per cent to private equity firm KKR.
Japanese auto major Honda Motor Co on Wednesday said it would locally produce and sell the popular 'Civic' model in India next year and would ramp up overall production capacity to 1,00,000 units by 2010 from the current level of 30,000 units.
India's largest motorcycle maker, Hero Honda Motors Ltd, launched its cheapest 100 cc motorbike yet on Wednesday, hoping to blunt competition from main rival Bajaj Auto Ltd.
Hero Honda Motors Ltd on Wednesday reported a 20 per cent growth in net profit for the quarter ended June 2004 at Rs 190 crore against Rs 158 crore in the corresponding period last year, buoyed by a 33 per cent surge in motorcycle sales volume.
Around 200 contract workers of two-wheeler manufacturer Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India, the fully owned subsidiary of Japan's Honda Motor Co, went on strike on Tuesday demanding regularisation of services.
India's largest motorcycle maker Hero Honda Motors Ltd said on Thursday it posted a net profit of Rs 581 crore (Rs 5.81 billion) for the year ended March 31.
The model will be equipped with a petrol engine in Thailand.
Honda pulled out of Formula One with immediate effect on Friday, feeling the bite of the global recession in a major blow to a sport itself looking to cut costs to survive.
Japan's Honda Motor Co, the world's top motorcycle maker, said on Tuesday it will renew for 10 years a pact to supply technology to its Indian joint venture company Hero Honda when the current agreement expires in 2004.
Honda Motor Co is close to a deal on the sale of its Formula One motor racing team, Japan's biggest circulation newspaper said on Tuesday, without identifying the buyer.
The investment will allow the plant, which currently builds car parts, to produce full vehicles.
Japanese auto giant Honda on Thursday said it will set up a third two-wheeler manufacturing facility in India at Narsapuram, in Karnataka, with an installed annual capacity of 12 lakh units by 2013.
Announcement comes following a production cut by Honda Motor at its plants in Japan following a shortage of components due to the impact of the Tsunami on its parts suppliers.
The group also said that the company's operations in India - Hero Honda Motors - would establish its third plant in 2006.
Honda manufactures cars at a facility in Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh.
While petrol starts at Rs 499,000 and goes up to Rs 760,000, the diesel variant is priced between Rs 599,000 and Rs 760,000.
Japan's Honda Motor Co will introduce a premium hatchback in the Indian market in the next 2-3 years as it eyes sales of 1.5 lakh units by 2010, a senior company official said on Tuesday.
The company is looking at buying steel and electrical components from Indian suppliers for the car to be cost competitive, Honda Motor Co executive vice-president and representative director Koichi Kondo told reporters while unveiling the concept of new small car at the Auto Expo in New Delhi.
Japanese auto major Honda Motor Co will commence exporting bikes by next year from India, a country which it sees as a future global hub, particularly for mass market models.
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.
A total of 15,623 Brios and 15,603 Amaze cars will be recalled
Companies with "gas guzzlers" are trying to set up the wrong narrative against small cars getting relaxation in the proposed corporate average fuel efficiency (CAFE-III) norms on the basis of weight, Maruti Suzuki senior executive officer corporate affairs Rahul Bharti said on Monday, bringing to the fore deep division among carmakers regarding the upcoming rules.
MNC auto firms that sold cars below cost, at a loss, thereby paying lower excise duty are prime targets.
Honda entered the diesel car segment with the Amaze and it became fastest in HCIL history since its inception in the Indian market to cross the milestone
They are recalling a total of about 3.4 million vehicles worldwide as a result of an airbag problem.
Global auto companies are investing huge money to build infrastructure in the country despite the slowdown.
Hero Honda Motors, India's largest motorcycle maker, launched a variant of its 110cc motorcycle Splendor on Monday.
Honda Cars India is recalling a total of 1,338 units of its premium sedan Accord and sports utility vehicle CR-V manufactured between 2002 and 2003 to replace a faulty part in the passenger side airbags. The recall, which is part of Honda's global recall regarding the potential defect related to passenger air bag announced in June 2014, would cover 1,085 units of Accord and 253 units of CR-V.
22 million vehicles recalled in 2013: US safety agency
Rising fuel costs and a fast growing middle class makes India a potential market for microcars.
Struggling Super Aguri confirmed Japan's Takuma Sato and Britain's Anthony Davidson as their 2008 drivers on Tuesday after agreeing to a takeover of the Formula One team. Super Aguri, who finished ninth overall last season, arrive in Melbourne with minimal pre-season mileage under their belts after taking part in just one full test since December while focusing on securing their financial future.
Ahead of the festive season, several passenger and commercial vehicle manufacturers have agreed to offer discounts of 1.5-3 per cent on new vehicle purchase against scrapped old vehicles after a meeting with Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, an official statement said on Tuesday. The statement further said Mercedes Benz India has offered a flat discount of Rs 25,000, which will be over and above all existing discounts. Union Road Transport and Highways (RT&H) Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday chaired a meeting with the SIAM delegation at Bharat Mandapam, where he addressed pressing issues in the automobile industry.
Honda cars has strengthend market share in India in the past five years.
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