Honda set for record car sales in India this year

Company is set to end 2014 with a record sale of 1.8 lakh units

Riding on new launches, Japanese auto major Honda is set for over 62%growth in its sales in India this year at around 1.8 lakh units.

The company, which launched two models -- mid-sized sedan City and multi purpose vehicle Mobilio during the year, had sold 1.11 lakh units in 2013.

"2014 was a very successful year for Honda as it continued its growth journey for the third consecutive year," Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Jnaneswar Sen said in a statement.

During the January-November period, the company sold 1.65 lakh units, up 61.8 per cent, from 1.02 lakh units in the same period of previous year.

Sen said Honda is set to end 2014 with a record sale of 1.8 lakh units.

In line with business expansion, the company made strong progress in expanding its dealership network during the year and crossed the milestone of 200 dealers in the country in November 2014.

"The company plans to rope in another 100 dealers by the end of the next fiscal and take the total tally to 300 facilities by March 2016," Sen said.

Elaborating on the launches during the year, he said that new generation City, which was launched in January, has gone on to sell more than 71,000 units till November 2014.

The company also forayed into the multi-purpose vehicle segment with the Honda Mobilio.

"The car has cumulatively sold more than 22,000 units in the initial five months after launch," Sen said.

The car maker crossed the sales milestone of 1,00,000 units in August this year and also saw its production capacity double during the year.

"2014 also witnessed doubling of production capacity in HCIL with the start of assembly operations in the Tapukara plant in February 2014," Sen said.

Buoyed by strong sales momentum for its cars, the production was swiftly ramped up within few months and the plant is now running on two shift operations since November 2014, he added.