Honda aims to sell over 50,000 units of Amaze in FY14

With the launch of its first diesel car in India, the Amaze, Honda plans to use over 41 per cent of its production capacity to roll out 4,000-5,000 units of the compact sedan every month

While the passenger vehicle segment grew just 1.08 per cent in the 2013-14 financial year on Y-o-Y basis, Honda with only petrol vehicles in its model line-up managed to boost sales by 35 per cent.

Backed by its success, the Japanese car maker is now looking to further drive up sales to 66 per cent growth in the current fiscal year. And to do this, its weapon of choice is the recently launched Honda Amaze.

Being Honda’s first diesel car in India, the Amaze looks to enjoy the confidence of the country’s diesel-centric car buyer aside of its loyal and satisfied customer base. And to cash in on the opportunities the Amaze brings for the company, Honda aims to manufacture 4,000 to 5,000 units of its new compact sedan every month.

"Our current plan is to make 4,000-5,000 cars (Amaze) a month. Our capacity is 1.2 lakh units which include all our models. What's available for this model is 4,000-5,000 units a month. We are limited by capacity as of now," Senior Vice-President (Sales & Marketing) Jnaneswar Sen is quoted by PTI as saying.

Honda has also recently announced plans of investing Rs 2,500 crore in the expansion of its production facilities in India to double its production capacity to 2.4 lakh units annually. This expansion plan is based on the company’s goals of launching five new models over the coming three years, most of which will be launched with diesel engine options. The next-generation Honda Jazz is slated to be launched in January 2014 and is likely to feature the Amaze’s 1.5 litre i-DTEC diesel engine.

Honda is also planning to open 12 new dealerships across the nation this fiscal taking its total dealer network up to 162 outlets in 102 cities compared to the current 150 outlets in 97 cities.

Sen stated the company expects to sell 63 per cent of the Honda Amaze in Tier II, Tier III markets and upcountry markets. The company also expects to capitalise on strong diesel markets such as Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Punjab.

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