Honda is developing a new small car especially designed for the Asian markets. The car is being developed on the basis of consumer feedback received by research agencies that reported that Honda needs a small car that is priced according to the Indian customers with an Indian price tag. It should adhere to all the safety norms and also carry the amenities offered by cars from Suzuki and Hyundai. After all the features, Honda wants the car to be as per the Honda standards as well. Honda intends to challenge Suzuki in the small car segment specifically in the Indian market where people prefer compact cars. “There is a worldwide shift to relatively smaller and cheaper cars,” Chief Executive Officer Takanobu Ito told reporters in New Delhi today. “We want to offer products to as many customers as possible.”

Honda introduced its small car model Jazz earlier this year which could not mark enough sales in the Indian market due to its hefty price tag. Now Honda intends to introduce a smaller car than Jazz that will not only compete with Suzuki models but also with the new small car model coming from Nissan. "Selling cars has become very difficult the world over, so we have to prioritise the market. Our top priority is China and India where we would like to grow as much as possible," said Ito. He declined that Honda plans any ULC model to compete with Nano. "We believe that India is a market with great potential (but) we do not have any plans for an ultra low-cost car but we believe we can develop a product, which we can sell to various customer segments," he said.