Honda buys land for next plant in India

Honda Motor Co., Japan’s third-largest carmaker, has started buying land in the western Indian state of Gujarat for a future plant in the country, an executive at the company said.

Honda’s India sales chief Jnaneswar Sen, who spoke in an interview Friday in New Delhi, declined to give further details, such as the factory’s size, cost or timetable. Tokyo-based spokeswoman Kumiko Hashimoto confirmed that the company has started procedures for buying land in India.

Honda saw deliveries in India rise 49 percent in the first five months of the fiscal year that began in April, as demand for passenger vehicles rebounded for a fourth straight month. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s election has prompted some economists to raise forecasts for the country’s economic growth, which slumped to a decade low in the last fiscal year.

Honda’s August sales rose 88 percent to 17,218 units, thanks to the new models, including the seven-seater Mobilio.

The Tokyo-based carmaker is starting a second shift in its second India plant in November, Sen said, as it raises capacity to meet demand for Mobilio and City small sedan, which has a waiting list of three months. (Bloomberg)