Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) moved a step further to establish India as its big hub by starting the first export of 390 Brios to South Africa & SADC (South African Development Community) countries. Despite the problems Honda faced over the last year due to flooding in Japan and slowdown of its India operations, the company is positive and has a strong outlook. Here is more.
At a ceremony at the Mumbai Port recently, the first consignment of 390 units of the Honda Brio was flagged off by HCIL and port officials. The first export batch for the South African market was loaded on to the MV Grand Orion.
According to HCIL President & CEO Hironori Kanayama, “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. Brio is the first car to be exported to South Africa by HCIL. We are planning to export more than 1,600 units of Brio to South Africa and SADC countries by March 2013.”
Honda Brio is currently manufactured in Honda’s first plant located at Greater Noida and the export model will also be manufactured in the same plant. The engine and transmission components for the Brio sold in India and export market are being manufactured at Tapukara plant in Rajasthan. The export model will be similar to the Brio manufactured and sold in India along with few customisations to suit the local regulations. The company will export both MT and AT variants of the car.
The Brio is set to go on sale in South Africa in early December. The car will be sold through Honda Motor Southern Africa dealers in South Africa and through its distributors in SADC countries.