Honda Cars India to roll out hybrid and electric SUVs by FY27, says Prez & CEO

The Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) segment now accounts for over 50 percent of sales in close to 40 lakh domestic passenger vehicle segments. Tsumura noted the carmaker continues to develop models, like hybrid and battery electric vehicles, that suit the Indian market.

“The automotive industry is undergoing a once in a century transformation that is characterised by swift changes. For Honda, to fulfil its mission and continue to be accompanied with people and society to exist into future, Tsumura further added. However, he maintained, “We recognise the dynamic nature of the Indian automotive industry and the challenges with respect to tightening emission norms.”

Tsumura also affirmed that its Elevate midsize SUV, which we launched last year, has gained good popularity and acceptance, both in domestic and export markets.

“We got lot of support and recognition from all of you. Cumulatively, we have sold almost 90,000 units since its launch, with almost 50,000 units sold in India and the rest in export markets. The Elevate, as you know, is our first ever made in India, model exported to Japan,” said Tsumura.

"We are developing a BEV that will be based on Elevate's platform and will be rolled out by FY 2026-27," revealed Tsumura. However, he clarified that it may not be named Elevate.

Tsumura was speaking on the sidelines of third-generation Amaze launch by HCIL. While the first generation of Amaze was introduced in 2013 followed by its next edition in 2018. HCIL has sold 5.8 lakh units of the Amaze so far in the country.  The latest generation Amaze is the most affordable model to be equipped with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS).

According to Tsumura, Amaze serves as the entry model in Honda's lineup and contributes around 40 percent of HCIL’s total sales. In his view, “While other models in this segment cater to the commercial taxi segment in a big way, Honda Amaze enjoys the preferred ‘personal car’ status among its buyers in this segment."

He also revealed that almost 50 percent of Amaze's customers are first time car buyers and this opens up immense opportunities to add new customers to Honda's family. “We expect a lot of young generation customers to buy Amaze sedan. We expect that to result in Amaze’s share to go beyond 40 percent of our total sales.”

According to him, the demand for the Honda Amaze is equally strong across tier 1, 2, and 3 markets in India, and the company will continue to cater to these markets through its network of 300 touchpoints.

When asked about the sales target for this model, he maintained, “While I am pushing for big numbers to our sales team, we do understand that the market conditions are tough right now. While I am not sure of the numbers, we are aiming at 20 percent incremental growth from the previous generation,” noted Tsumura.