The small car verge of Honda is slated for 2011-12, earlier than projected and is coded as 2CV and will be an exclusive for the Indian market. This is to dare the Suzuki domination in the small car segment with 7 cars (60%share) and in the lines of Toyota, which is going to launch its small car next year.
Honda is yet to open its account in the small car segment and this 2CV is a 1.1 lit petrol engine and the company foresees that this small car would double its presence in India (the current figures are 52000 cars / year). The new small car will be made from its unit in Rajasthan which will be upgraded to 1 lakh small cars / year. The proposed small car plan is going as per schedule and the diesel variant will follow later, said the company official and Honda believes that it is likely to earn fame with its small cars.
The car will dare the likes of Suzuki, Hyundai (i10), GM’s Aveo UV-A, Tata’s Indica, Fiat’s Punto, Ford Figo and Toyota’s new small car. Small car segment is the fastest sector with 2.5 lakh cars being sold a year. The proposed small car is to be smaller than Honda’s jazz priced at Rs4.5 – 5 lakhs for the petrol variant and may share the platform of Jazz for iV-TEC engine technology yet to be included under the small entry-level A segment. Thailand will also have this model under the Thai government Eco-Car project with tax reliefs.