Honda targets Punjab market

Seeing the vast potential of the northern region, Honda Siel Cars India Ltd is expecting to do brisk business in Punjab. It is targeting a sale of 1,200 units of its premium segment car--the Honda Civic--by the end of this financial year.

In Punjab, the company has sold 100 Honda Civic cars and received booking for 140 cars till date, within four days of its official launch in New Delhi. This was revealed by National Head (Sales) Arvind Bhatnagar, who was in the city to launch the Honda Civic with an advanced 1.8 Li-VTEC engine.

Commenting upon the demand for premium segment cars in India, Bhatnagar said the demand was growing by 11 per cent annually, therefore it had immense potential.

He said, "The Honda Civic is the only car in its segment which is equipped with five speed automatic transmission and a unique "Paddle Shift" option which can be operated by using paddle switches, located just behind the steering spoke."

The car would be fully loaded with a range of a safety features, including the anti lock braking system and the electronic brake force distribution system. The car also has the collision safe G force control technology, he added.

The car will be available in manual and automatic versions-1.8S MT (Manual Transmission) and 1.8S AT (Automatic Transmission).

About Punjab's contribution in sales, he said, "With a high disposable income, Punjab has huge potential as it contributes 9-10 per cent of total sales of our cars in premium segments."

About sales, he said, "We are hoping to sell 62,000 cars in this fiscal, thus achieving a growth rate of 42.5 per cent over last financial year. Last year, we managed to sell 43,500 cars."

The company is planning to increase the total dealership network from 66 to 100. Also, with the increase in demand, the company is planning to expand its manufacturing capacity and is hoping to produce 150,000 cars by 2010 from current 100,000 cars.