Honda Cars India has begun exporting its Brio hatchback to South Africa and other South African Development Community (SADC) countries like Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mauritius and Seychelles.
The first consignment of 390 cars for South Africa was loaded on the ship M.V. Grand Orion in the presence of Hironori Kanayama, president and CEO, HCIL and senior port officials. The company plans to export up to 1,600 units of the car by the end of the current fiscal and around 4,000 units by the end of 2013-14.
Kanayama said, “We are delighted to flag off the first ever Brio export consignment to South Africa. The expansion of Honda’s export business is the first step towards developing India as another hub for export of certain models. It is also testimony to the quality of Honda cars and their components manufactured at our plants in India.”
The Brio model being exported to South Africa is very similar to the one that is sold in India with some minor customisation to meet local regulations. These include two towing hooks provided (one at the front and another at the rear) and display of the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) on the dashboard. Both manual and the recently launched automatic models are being exported.
The Brio rolls out of HCIL’s Greater Noida plant, which also manufactures the export model. The engine and transmission components for both the India-spec and export Brios are produced at the company’s Tapukara plant in Rajasthan.
When queried whether slowing sales of petrol cars in India is one of the reasons for the Brio being exported so as to utilise the production capacity, Kanayama said, “These (SADC countries) are also developing markets like India and there is demand for small cars there as well. We don’t have surplus capacity. We plan the production for domestic and exports simultaneously.” Commenting on future export plans, he said, “We are looking to export other models as well, but still haven’t decided on the mix.”
The Brio shipment is not the first time that the company has exported cars from India. The City saloon has been shipped to neighbouring countries like Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
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