Honda Cars India is set to establish a new assembly line at its Tapukara plant in Rajasthan. The first car will roll out of the facility with an annual production capacity of 120,000 units in the first half of 2014.
The carmaker is also setting up a fully integrated diesel parts and engine assembly unit with capacity for 163,000 units per annum. A forgings unit, with annual capacity of 10 lakh units, is also to be set up. The total investment in the expansion project including operations at Greater Noida is pegged at Rs 6,700 crore. Honda has already started exporting some of the diesel engine parts to the UK.
On the model front, the company says it plans to roll out five new models in the next three years, the first of which will be the new Amaze. The new compact saloon will be powered by the new 1.5-litre diesel engine which will also be plonked in several of the upcoming models as well as in facelifted variants of existing Honda cars.
A company official said the April 11 launch of the Amaze will be followed by the introduction of another new saloon here.
The company's senior management has also seen a change, with Yoshiyuki Matsumoto, vice-president of Asian Honda Motor, being appointed president and CEO of Honda Motor India. He will be in charge of product development, purchasing and manufacturing operations in Asia and Oceania.
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