The prospective buyers and fans of the Honda vehicles will have to shell out more money this year, as there have been consecutive price hikes in a matter of just three months’ time. Honda Cars India is again getting ready to increase the prices of its entire product by up to Rs. 6,000 starting from April 2016 in order to offset the impact of the adverse exchange rate which in turn is resulting into higher input costs.

Honda Cars India had just hiked up its car prices earlier this month by up to Rs. 79,000 in order to align the prices owing to the imposed higher cess announced in the latest Union Budget for the 2016-17 financial year, which made most of the car makers increase the prices of their products.

At present, Honda Cars India offers 6 car models for sale in the car market of India. The car range in Indian from the stable of Honda Motor starts from its entry level compact hatchback model Brio that has a starting price range of Rs. 4.31 lakhs and ends in the flagship SUV model CR-V that is tagged starting at Rs. 26 lakhs (ex-showroom, New Delhi).

While revealing the latest price hike, a Honda Cars India spokesperson said that the company is planning to increase the prices of its whole product portfolio starting from the first week of the next month in order to partially offset the impact of the unfavorable exchange rate which is causing increased input costs.

The Honda Cars India has however, yet not finalized the percentage of the price hike in its individual vehicle models. Nevertheless, it is expected that the Japanese car major will be increasing its price range by around Rs. 6000 onwards for its cars depending on the model.

In the most recent price hike, post the Union Budget the Japanese company had increased the price range of its entry level car Honda Brio from Rs. 4,000 to Rs 6,000, its premium hatchback model Honda Jazz in the range of between Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 19,500 and mid-sized premium sedan the Honda City in the range of Rs. 24,600 to Rs. 38,100. The company increased the prices of compact multipurpose utility vehicle Honda Mobilio in the range between Rs. 21,800 to Rs. 37,700 and hiked up the prices of its Sports Utility Vehicle, the Honda CR-V in the range of Rs. 66,500 and Rs. 79,000, depending on the various model trims.

The upcoming price hike should not be great, so the demands of the Honda car models are not expected to dampen at least on the whole, while a slight negative buying sentiment might develop in some prospective buyers. Just post the recent revival of the Indian car market in 2015 after a long slowdown, the domestic car market has not only witnessed the launch of many new cars but also a lot of price hikes.

In the mean time, Honda Cars India is also busy preparing to launch the highly awaited BR-V compact SUV.

The new 2017 Honda Civic hatchback will be showcased at the upcoming 2016 Geneva Motor Show that will be held in the month of March. The new avatar of the Honda Civic is expected to boast all-round improvements on the exterior, interior as well as under the hood fronts. The Honda Civic hatch has been a very popular choice in the global markets and its next generation model is a highly awaited launch.

Just like the much appreciated all new Civic sedan, the hatchback model will also come with a new bolder and sporty visual appeal and. The all new Honda Civic hatch will have distinctive styling swagger than its previous model which will be its primary buy point. Recently released images of the new car model have also revealed that its rear windscreen gets interestingly bisected by a spoiler which then goes on to blend in seamlessly with the stylish tail lights. Additionally, the sporty looking upcoming model’s hexagonal number plate that was revealed in the images is also most likely to make to the actual production model of the car. There are high speculations regarding the new-gen hatchback’s highly aggressive front fascia and prominent company insignia.

As per the sources, the new upcoming Honda Civic hatchback model will be getting powered by a compact yet powerful 1.0 liter 3-cylinder petrol engine that can offer a peak power output of 127hp, and a bigger 1.5 liter 4-cylinder version that has the capability to generate a max power of 201hp. Both the engines will get equipped with the company’s VTEC variable valve timing technology.

Additionally, reports also say that there will be another engine choice of a newly developed 2.0 liter turbocharged petrol unit which will be offered in the line-up at a later date after the car’s official market launch. This new engine is might be replacing the existing 1.8 liter engine and is also set to be powering the much awaited new upcoming Honda Type R.

This brand-new petrol engine will also come empowered with Honda’s acclaimed “Earth Dreams” technology that offers great performance along with enhanced fuel economy. Honda has also revealed that the new petrol engine will be the most frugal engine in the company’s history.

On the inside, the all new 2017 Honda Civic hatch is reportedly going to boast of a large touchscreen replacing the split-screen of the preceding model, while the car is also said to be offering a more spacious cabin and more rear leg room.

As per the reports, the 5-door Honda Civic hatchback version will be offered for sale in the car market of UK as well as North America, which will a first time offering in the region.

The Japanese car major has already announced that the next generation Honda Civic will be offering sporty and fun to drive experience to the owners. The all new Honda Civic is set to launch in Europe early next year, while no details about the car’s pricing has been revealed as yet.

Japanese car major, Honda Motor has been the parts manufacturer Takata’s largest client, till recently. And when the Japanese parts supplier goofed up with lethally defective safety equipment parts in massive numbers, Honda Motors bore the brunt of it. While in the massive faulty Takata air bag recall, a good number of global auto giants are involved, Honda is the worst hit among all these. While the Takata air bag related recall practice gets stretched out, Honda Motors is also troubled with an immense number of vehicles that need to be called back and replaced with new air bags.

As per a report, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has said that the faulty air bag inflators from Takata were manufactured between the period of the year 2006 and 2010. The Japanese auto major has claimed that some of the Honda Acura as well as other Honda vehicle models that were manufactured between the year 2005 and 2016 are being called back in order to check and replace the faulty Takata PSDI-5 driver’s side air bag inflators, which makes for a massive total 2.23 million vehicles.

As per the report, the recall letters will be send in by the middle of next month, while another letter will be sent when the required parts are available. Honda Motors’s latest recall is included in the total 2.23 million units.
The faulty Takata air bag initiated massive vehicle recall also include several other vehicle models from the global car majors such as Volkswagen AG, Kia Motors Corp, Mazda Motor Corp, Daimler AG and Volvo AB.

Honda Motors has earlier recalled more than 6 million vehicles in the US since the year 2008 to replace the faulty Takata inflators. More than 50 million vehicles have been already recalled in the world with around 24 million vehicles being only in the US, which made for the biggest ever car recall practice in the US.

Moreover, a defect has also been found in the computer components which control up to 5 million air bags in the vehicles globally.

Honda Motor has explained that this current recall is due to a faulty information report from Takata. The Japanese car maker has revealed that the involved vehicles include the Honda CR-V crossover from 2007-2011, the Honda Fit made from 2009 to 2014, the CR-Z coupe made between 2011and 2015, the Honda Ridgeline of the 2007-2014 models, the Insight hybrid manufactured in 2010-2014 and also the Honda FCX Clarity fuel cell sedan manufactured from 2010 to 2014. A specific list of vehicles involved in the recall is yet to be made.

A Honda spokesperson said that the company’s negotiations with the relevant authorities in each of the recall involved countries are pending till now. The VIN search of the Honda vehicles that are involved in this recall is also thus not possible just as now, and the worried Honda vehicle owners will have to wait for some time to know if they need to rush to the Honda dealerships to get the dangerously faulty safety equipment replaced.

The brand new Honda BR-V compact crossover model was unveiled in India at the 2016 Auto Expo. The new Honda vehicle will soon be hitting the Indian car market in the coming months and is ready to offer a tough fight to the several successful models in the Indian compact SUV market that is increasingly getting popular. As per Honda Cars India’s president and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Katsushi Inoue the Honda BR-V has received “fabulous response” from the visitors on the first 2 public days of the Indian Auto Expo.

Post its formal launch in the Indian car market, the Honda BR-V compact crossover model will be pitched against the likes of the highly successful and increasingly popular Hyundai Creta, the Renault Duster and Nissan Terrano. However, the BR-V will have an edge over its competent market rivals with its additional seating capacity which could be its primary weapon to get good market success in India. The all-new Honda BR-V crossover comes with a seating configuration of 2+3+2, and while it offers the seating capacity of total 7 adults, its rivals in the Indian compact SUV segment offers only the seating capacity of 5 adults.

The new Honda BR-V literally stands for the ‘Bold Runabout Vehicle’ and is essentially a crossover version of the Honda Mobilio MPV based on the same extended Brio platform. When it comes to visual appeal, then like all Honda cars the BR-V also comes with a stylish and attractive design language. Having a lot in common with its MPV sibling Mobilio, the Honda BR-V looks somewhat like a beefed up and more premium version of the Mobilio. The Honda BR-V gets many striking styling elements including a heavily chrome garnished front fascia, plastic body cladding in black color, ruggedly styled front and rear bumpers and stylish alloy wheels.

On the inside, the Honda BR-V gets a dashboard design that has been lifted from the City or the new Jazz. The top of the range model of the BR-V will come loaded with many premium features including projector headlamps, fog lights, a touchscreen display integrated infotainment system, automatic climate control, premium leather seat upholstery, dual airbags, ABS, and many more. The safety features of ABS and dual front airbags are likely to be offered as standard fitments across all the variants of the vehicle.

Under the hood, Honda BR-V gets the engine options that are same as the City’s. The BR-V’s petrol model gets a 1.5 liter i-VTEC petrol unit which offers 119 PS of power and is coupled to a choice of 5 speed manual or a CVT automatic transmission. The 1.5 liter i-DTEC diesel motor offers 100 PS and is likely to get paired to a 6 speed gearbox.
The new Honda BR-V compact crossover model will be manufactured at Honda India’s production facility at Tapukara in Rajasthan.

The Honda BR-V is likely to launch in India by mid-2016 with very high localization levels to offer competitive pricing.

Japanese car major Honda is having a great time in the Indian car market in the last couple of years, in terms of great successful new model launches and the huge sales numbers that these models are generating. Honda Cars India is not only the country’s leading premium car maker, but also a car major which has overtaken many other car giants in the recent past to get a great position in the top car makers’ list in India.

The Japanese car major had showcased several of its global car models, concepts as well as technology at the just concluded 2016 Indian Auto Expo, in order to display its global car making prowess. Honda has made great advancements in diversified fields and is working towards a future mobility system, and thus the company displayed a number of great interesting concept models at the very important biennial Indian auto show. Among the most remarkable concept models from the house of Honda Motors was the Honda 2&4 Concept, which is an interesting a four wheel racer car model with a motorcycle motor at its heart.

The Honda 2&4 Concept model has got its name from its quirky design theme that makes it eye-catching and interesting. This race car concept was built to offer the successful amalgamation of a car’s convenience and the flexibility and agility of a motorbike.

The Honda 2&4 racer concept is actually the final product of the winning design of an internal competition of the company which received the participation of more than 80 designers as well as engineers from the many departments of the company spread across the world. Honda Motors has strong intentions of making the most of this quirky concept and is interested in putting it into actual production.

The Honda 2&4 car comes with a light yet strong built quality in order to make it agile yet sturdy. The concept is built with light carbon fiber floating seat which has been specifically designed to offer its occupants with a light and airy feel that evokes the feeling of freedom that one usually enjoys while riding a motorbike. However, this free spirited drive experience comes without any compromises on the safety aspects. The race car comes with a two-seater configuration in which the passenger seat can also be fully removed and also sealed in. This makes the car a customizable effective single seater racer concept without any other necessary changes that could weaken its aerodynamics.

At its hear, the curious looking Honda 2&4 concept model gets a 999 cc V4 motor which does the duty for the RC213V that is provided by the Japanese company’s motorcycle division. This highly potent bike engine offers a massive power of 212 hp at 13,000 RPM. The engine is mated to a 6 speed dual clutch transmission. If, Honda Motor does put it’s 2&4 Concept into production, then the company will venture into the domain that is dominated by KTM, Caterham and Ariel.

Honda Motors is far from recovering from the massive vehicle recall issue that it has been facing in the recent past over the faulty airbags. Honda Motors has not been the only one though, as many of its fellow Japanese car majors and a lot of other global auto behemoths are also troubled by this defective airbag menace that has raised a serious automobile safety issue in the world. Among a number of international car majors, Honda is among the few car companies which falls under the very serious category of safety issues in the U.S car market.

All these recall troubles of the many car majors including Honda have been due to the defective air bags supplied by the Japanese car parts supplier, Takata. The Takata air bags defect is of serious safety hazardous nature and involves huge numbers of cars which need to be called back to replace the dangerously defective safety feature.
The Honda Motor is now again recalling another innumerable number of vehicles in its home market of Japan. Honda is calling back 440,000 cars in the Japanese car market in order to replace the faulty air bag inflators manufactured and supplied by Takata. The faulty air bag inflators can be potentially harmful for the occupants of the involved cars, as they that can explode shooting shrapnel on to the occupants of the vehicle, which can cause serious injuries and also cause fatalities. There have been few fatalities reported due to this bursting air bags that throw shrapnel, while hundreds have been injured due to the same issue. Owing to the huge number of reported injuries and Takata’s efforts to cover up the issue, the company is facing huge legal problems. In the meantime, millions of vehicles around the world are involved in a humongous recall practice in which several global car majors are losing sleep over.

The recent recall which was announced by Honda Motor on 5th of February in its home market Japan is part of the company’s massive worldwide recall which involves over 5.7 million vehicles which need to get replacement of the faulty Takata air inflators. This includes the 2.2 million vehicles which were called back officially by the Japanese car major earlier this week in the car market of United States because of the same faulty air bags issue.

This recent Honda cars recall in the Japanese car market involves the vehicles that were manufactured from the year 2005 till the year 2014. The involved vehicles in the recent recall also involves the very popular compact hatchback model that goes by the name of the Honda Fit in some markets including Japan and is called as the Honda Jazz in other markets.

Honda cars are known for their style, quality and premium feel. Honda has been also very proactive about safety issues of its cars and is currently very busy tackling the fixing of an immense number of its cars to safeguard its customers and company reputation.

SUVs and green, these two generally don’t go together. The usually massive, bulky and sporty vehicles that are created to beat the dust and handle challenges of any sort of road conditions are not expected to be environment friendly anyways. Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) are powerful machines on wheels, and in a bid to offer tough performance and off-road abilities, they give a miss to the importance of fuel conservation, and usually offer poor mileage. However, if a SUV can manage to be green, then certainly there’s nothing like it.

Honda Motor must be feeling proud of its new HR-V SUV, as it has done exactly that. The Japanese car major, which is world famous for stylish premium cars, has added another feather in its cap as its new HR-V compact SUV has achieved the Green SUV of the Year award at the 2016 Washington Auto Show.

The Green SUV category award is the latest from the Green Car Journal that naturally garners a lot of attention every year for the ‘Green Car of the Year award’, which is crucial in identifying sustainable, environment friendly and sensible vehicles that are the need of the hour, considering the grave pollution and global warming scenario in our world. This award helps the buyers in the US to decide which new car to go for in terms of their ecological factor.

Fortunately, in the recent past all sorts of vehicles have been enhancing their green factor, as the auto majors have been increasing focus on making their vehicles more eco-friendly with the usage of advanced technology. Thus, one can find anything from massive vehicles, to superb luxury and even performance oriented cars that are highly environment friendly as compared to their previous counterparts.

At this year’s Washington Auto Show, the Volvo XC90 crossover was crowed as the greenest luxury car by the Green Car Journal, while the title of the green connected car went to Chevrolet Malibu.

While commenting on these vehicles and praising them, the editor & publisher of the Green Car Journal, Ron Cogan said that these are stand alone models in the field of highly sophisticated as well as stylish green cars. It has been a real achievement to be able to mark the real winner for these awards, as the market competition is really intense in this field currently.

The new Honda HR-V is one among the new class of subcompact SUV, which has cropped up in the recent past. This segment of vehicles offers spacious, performing yet fuel economical SUVs. The Honda HR-V’s primary draw point has been its coupe-like styling with a SUV’s practicality. When fuel efficiency is concerned, then the Honda HR-V offers 35 MPG on the highway, while its engine also offers adequate power of 141hp for performance.

Honda HR-V compact SUV won the coveted Green SUV of the Year award by beating its very capable rivals – Hyundai Tucson, BMW X1 xDrive 28i, Toyota RAV4 Hybrid and Mazda CX-3.

As the 2016 Indian Auto Expo is just days away, all the car majors in India are highly busy getting their new and upcoming models ready to be flaunted at the show. All the participants at the event have also finalized that display products by now, although everyone hasn’t disclosed their plans. Like all the other car makers, the Japanese car major Honda is also busy preparing for the highly important biennial auto event. However, Honda’s Indian counterpart Honda Cars India has been very straightforward and without keeping any suspense, has gone ahead announcing its entire lineup of vehicle models that are going to be showcased at the 2016 Auto Expo.

Among the many important models that will be unveiled at the Auto Expo, including the much awaited BR-V, Honda Cars India is also going to be displaying the new generation Accord premium sedan in the country. However, this time around the elegant sedan will be coming with its first time hybrid version.

It is a known fact that Honda India is planning to launch the new Accord sedan model in India. The re-introduction of the luxury sedan is expected to take place in India by mid-2016. The globally popular and one of the bestselling products of Honda – the Accord was lifted off the Indian market back in 2013, owing to falling sales. This time around, Honda Cars India sees a bright potential in the luxury hybrid segment of India and is thus, preparing to launch the all new Honda Accord Hybrid, which will be its first in India. At present, the Indian luxury Hybrid car market is fully dominated by the first of its kind, locally manufactured Toyota Camry Hybrid, and the imported Toyota Prius.

The new Honda Accord Hybrid has recently received a facelift in the US market, and comes with great new styling features. The new refreshed Honda Accord hybrid model has been endowed to a fresh front fascia that flaunts sleeker and more stylish headlight clusters along with new LED daytime running lights. The new Accord Hybrid gets equipped with a 1,993 cc 4 cylinder gasoline mill that has the capability of pumping out a max power output of 141 PS and a peak torque figure of 122 Nm at 3,500 – 6,000 rpm. With the aid of the electric motor, the capable hybrid powertrain has the ability to offer a peak combined power of 196 PS.

The new Honda Accord Hybrid model is expected to be priced over Rs. 25 lakhs in the car market of India. Post its Indian launch, the Accord Hybrid will be primarily rivaling with the Toyota Camry Hybrid.

Apart from the new Accord Hybrid and the BR-V SUV, Honda India will also be showcasing a Jazz based racing prototype, the Honda Project 2&4, the McLaren Honda MP4-30 race car and the entire existing Indian lineup. The company will also display its advanced humanoid robot – the Honda ASIMO at the 2016 Auto Expo.

Honda Cars India is way very busy trying to grow massively in the Indian car market. The company has witnessed unprecedented growth in the past couple of years, and now when its growth has slowed down a bit, it is keener on growing more aggressively. In keeping with its growth strategy, Honda Cars India is planning in grow in every aspect. The Japanese car major has been launching new products to expand its product portfolio, and has at least two new launches scheduled for this year. The company has also expanded its production capacity and is going to expand it further, and its dealership network in India is also witnessing an ongoing process of expansion.

In order to reach its customers better, Honda Cars India has inaugurated a new dealership outlet in Madhya Pradesh. This new Honda showroom has opened in Palasia, Indore, on 15th of January 15, 2016. The new dealership outlet has been named as ‘Landmark Honda’. The new dealership outlet was inaugurated by the Senior Vice President of the Marketing & Sales division at Honda Cars India, Mr. Jnaneswar Sen who was accompanied by the presence of the MD of the dealership, Mr. Sanjay Thakker.

This new authorized Honda dealership outlet is build on a total area of 12000 square feet and employs a team of trained technicians and sales persons to offer an all round superb customer experience. This dealership will be a one-stop-shop, as it offers everything including all Honda car models for sales, services as well as sales of spare parts. This new outlet has 18 bays in order to accommodate all sorts of repair and maintenance services including basic servicing, crash repairs, wheel balancing, wheel alignment, and all other types of car services.

With the new Landmark Honda in place, Honda Cars India now has a total of 268 dealership outlets spread across 173 cities across the country. Honda Cars India has recently put to effect the price hike that the company had announced in the month of December, last year. All Honda cars have now become up to Rs.10,000 dearer than before.

In terms of its product portfolio expansion, Honda Cars India is expected to launch its new compact crossover BR-V as well as the new generation model of the Honda Accord premium sedan this year. Both these new car models from the stable of Honda will be unveiled in India at the 2016 Indian Auto Expo alongside the showcase of several other cars.
The Honda BR-V compact SUV is one of the most awaited car launches this year, which will be rivaling against the likes of the Hyundai Creta, Maruti S-Cross and the Renault Duster. It is expected to hit the Indian car market by mid-2016. On the other hand, Honda India will be resurrecting the Accord brand in India by launching its latest generation model. The all new Honda Accord premium sedan is expected to launch during this year’s festive season.

The association between the Japanese car major Honda Motor and the American auto giant General Motors is already known in the global car market. Honda and General Motors (GM) have joined hands to develop the hydrogen Fuel Cell technology in a more advanced way, which will be used by both Honda and GM’s future cars. Now, according to reports, the two global auto majors are working together to establish a factory which will be producing hydrogen fuel cells.
A latest report claims that Honda Motor and General Motors are considering a joint venture in order to setup a facility to make future generation fuel cells that will go into the making of the future cars from the stable of both these two car majors.

According to the sources, Honda and GM are planning to get this plant up and running latest by the year 2025. However, the reports or the sources do not indicate as to where this new joint venture fuel cell factory will be located.

At present, Honda and GM are jointly working on the advancement of the Fuel Cell technology and the production of the fuel cells that involve taking hydrogen stored in its highly pressurized form and then combining it with the naturally found oxygen drawing from the air in order to generate the necessary energy to drive the car. Apart from electricity, the fuel cell vehicles also produce pure water vapor that gets emitted from the vehicles in the form of exhaust. Thus, the fuel cell vehicles are the ultimate green cars, which are also likely to be used as the source offering pure drinking water and emergency power, in the future.

It is good to mention at this point of time that although Honda and GM are jointly producing the next-generation fuel cell technology, the two car makers will be individually engineering their own respective cars that will go on sale in their individual brand names. These new cars however, will make use of the same fuel cell technology from the joint venture.

The global car markets are slowly making solid ground for the success of the still very expensive fuel cell vehicles apart from the nascent fuel cell infrastructure. It is said that the Japanese government is considering introducing incentives on the fuel cell vehicles which will make them carry competitive pricing that is at par with the hybrid vehicles by the year 2025.

Due to the immense research and development costs of the fuel cell technology, several auto giants in the world have formed to help cut down expenses, fast track the development and to utilize resources better among themselves.
While Honda and GM have joined hands for fuel cell technology development and hydrogen storage in cars back in the year 2013, Toyota and BMW have formed alliance to work on hydrogen fuel cell technology and to develop a sports car platform. Daimler, Ford and Nissan have also tied-up for advanced fuel cell development.