Honda Cars India looking to build a new car plant in Gujarat

As per a recent report, Honda Cars India is contemplating to set up a new car manufacturing plant in Gujarat. The recent success of Honda has really shot its fame in India than ever before, and the company is making the most of it with planned expansion in every aspect, be it product range, production capacity, dealerships and manufacturing facility. Honda also has many upcoming cars in the pipeline, which would require a massive production capacity expansion, and as a result new factories will be required. Honda’s new production facility in Tapukara Rajasthan just got operational in February this year which will surely help churning out new Honda cars. However, Honda sees huge demand in the next couple of years which will need an additional third car factory, and thus Honda’s contemplation on a new Gujarat plant.

The new Gujarat plant of Honda will need a whopping investment of around Rs. 4,000 crore. The new facility is being planned in a village named Vithalapur in Gujarat. The manufacturing facility will have the capacity to roll out around 100,000-125,000 vehicles per year.

The Japanese car maker is currently negotiating with the Gujarat state government and is looking to buy a sprawling 150 hectares of area in Vithalapur, Manpur for the construction of the planned third Honda plant in India. Alongside with this new car manufacturing facility, Honda is also planning to set up a new component manufacturing facility in Gujarat. Post the set up of this new third plant, Honda India will become the second largest Japanese car maker in the country. Moreover, it will be the second Japanese firm that is working to set up a new factory in the Vithalapur, Gujarat as the same place is also going to house the new factory of Suzuki Motor Co, the Japanese parent company of the Indian market leader, Maruti Suzuki India Limited.

According to a market analyst, Honda India is predicted to make half a million vehicle in the country by early next year. This will make the company the second largest auto maker by volumes after Maruti Suzuki India. Honda India is indeed a very strong and stable car manufacturer which will immerge stronger in future.

Honda Motor India’s first plant is located in Greater Noida and second plant at Tapukara, Rajasthan, which is currently manufacturing the Amaze compact sedan and the upcoming Mobilio MPV. Honda India’s current total installed production capacity is 240,000 units annually.

It seems that Gujarat is the current favorite hub for most of the auto makers in India. The American auto manufacturer Ford Motors has also built its new plant in Sanand, Gujarat, while Tata Motors already has its Nano plant there. With Maruti Suzuki and Honda Motors coming to Gujarat, we can expect more car makers to join the Gujarat plant bandwagon.

At present, Honda is busily preparing for the launch of its first MPV in India in the form of the Mobilio, which is scheduled to happen next month.