Honda Cars India Limited, a subsidiary of the Japanese car maker Honda Motor Co., has finished fourth behind Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Mahindra & Mahindra in the year-on-year vehicle sales recorded in the domestic market during May 2013. There is unusual activity for the fourth place finish on the sales charts as Tata Motors and Toyota Kirloskar Motor were the usual contenders before.
Honda Cars India's sales figures for the month of May were buoyed by its in-demand Amaze entry level sedan. Being the company's first diesel car for the domestic car market, Honda Amaze has set the charts on fire and some 6,036 units were sold last month in the country. As per reports, the compact sedan contributed more than half of Honda's total vehicle sales in the Indian auto market that stood at 11,342 units in May 2013. Further, the continuously dropping price differential in the petrol and diesel fuels has immensely helped Honda Cars India, for the sales of its Amaze, flagship City mid-size sedan and the Brio compact hatchback.
However, industry experts have opined that Honda may not be able to meet the rapidly increasing demand for its Amaze model among the domestic buyers. This claim seems legit due to the car maker's limited production capacity at its Greater Noida manufacturing facility. Honda's Greater Noida plant can produce at most 10,000 units per month, which from the current scene seems far too less as compared to the demand. Honda Amaze alone is selling in excess of 6,000 units and the company would have to soon increase its production in the country.
Speaking his mind on the same, Jnaneswar Sen, Senior Vice President (VP), Sales and marketing at Honda Cars India Limited, was quoted as saying, “We are on a strong comeback in the market. Our strong numbers in May are not a one-month fluke, and we are confident that these volumes are maintainable and can be grown further as we get more capacity and products.”
