Honda to launch three new models in India in 2026-27: CEO Tsumura

The electric car market is set to become increasingly competitive in 2025, with several carmakers, including Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, and Kia, planning to launch their EVs

Honda Cars India (HCIL) plans to launch three new models in India in 2026-27 (FY27), including its first electric car (e-car), President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Takuya Tsumura told Business Standard on Wednesday. The e-car will be based on the sport utility vehicle (SUV) Elevate, he added.

 

The e-car market is set to become increasingly competitive in 2025, with several carmakers, including Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, and Kia, planning to launch their mass-market e-cars.

 

Tsumura said that the company has not yet decided on any new model launches for 2025-26. On Wednesday, the CEO launched the third generation of the Amaze sedan at a starting price of Rs 7.99 lakh (ex-showroom).

 

“Two-thirds of our total car sales globally will be electric by 2030. By 2040, all our cars will be electric. That is the global direction, and we are trying to align with it,” Tsumura said.

 

“A total of three new nameplates (models) will be coming in FY27. One of those will be an Elevate-based electric vehicle (EV) with a new nameplate. It is going to be a new nameplate because it’s not just a matter of putting a battery in the Elevate. The right way to think about it would be in terms of an Elevate-sized EV," he added.

 

He declined to provide details about the other two models to be launched in India in FY27. HCIL currently sells only three models in India — Elevate, Amaze, and the City sedan.

 

Sales of e-cars in India have been declining in recent months, while sales of strong hybrid cars have been growing.

 

Does this affect Tsumura’s e-car plans?

 

He replied: “The level of growth is not as expected today. However, charging infrastructure is improving by the day, and the acceptance of these cars is also getting better.”

 

“India is aiming to become carbon-neutral by 2070. In line with that, the corporate average fuel efficiency-2 (CAFE-2) norms are already in place, and CAFE-3 norms will come into effect from 2027, making regulations related to automobile emissions much tougher. We need certain solutions. It is very difficult to comply with these CAFE regulations without having e-cars in your portfolio... Therefore, you see that most companies are launching their e-cars from next year onwards,” he added.

 

He was referring to CAFE norms in India, which regulate the average fuel efficiency of a carmaker’s fleet to reduce fossil fuel consumption and carbon emissions. These norms push carmakers to launch lower-emission vehicles like hybrids and EVs. The Indian government is currently discussing the implementation of the stricter CAFE-3 norms from 2027.

 

When asked about the growth HCIL expects in 2024-25, he said that the company expects total sales (domestic sales plus exports) to remain flat.

 

“It is very hard to provide a number now. This year, our exports are growing. Our total sales for this financial year (2024-25/FY25) will be at a similar level to last year,” he said.

 

The company’s domestic sales stood at 35,148 units in the April-October period of FY25, a drop of about 25.3 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y). However, its exports during the same period stood at 36,309 units, nearly three times higher than the corresponding period of the previous financial year.

 

Tsumura expressed hope that the entry-level sedan market would see growth with the launch of the new-generation Amaze and Maruti’s new-generation Dzire. However, he clarified that the growth of the entry-level sedan market will not come close to the growth of the SUV segment.

 

The small car market — which includes sedans and hatchbacks — is currently seeing a decline in sales. In the April-October period, a total of 767,618 units of these cars were sold in India, recording a drop of 18.36 per cent Y-o-Y.

 

Kunal Behl, vice-president of marketing and sales at HCIL, told Business Standard that the decline in sales is more prominent in the hatchback segment than in the sedan segment. The compound annual growth rate for the lower sedan market over the last five years stood at a positive 2 per cent, while the hatchback segment has seen a decline of 5 per cent, he added.

 

“It gives us confidence that Indian consumers are upgrading from hatchbacks to sedans or sub-4 metre SUVs,” Behl observed. The localisation level for the new-generation Amaze is more than 95 per cent, he said.

 

When asked whether the export potential of the new-generation Amaze would be similar to that of the Elevate, Behl responded, “Even now, the Amaze is being exported to countries such as South Africa, Nepal, and Bhutan. That will continue. However, this is a more India-specific car, designed for Indian conditions.”