— Photo: Rajeev Bhatt

WIDENING BASE: Masahiro Takedagawa (left), President and CEO, Honda Siel Car India, and N. K. Goila, Vice President and Director, with the newly launched Honda Accord, in New Delhi on Tuesday.

NEW DELHI: Honda Motor Company on Tuesday said it was developing a premium hatchback, keeping in mind Indian conditions. The new car (small car) will be launched in the next 2-3 years. "It will not be from our existing models. Our plans are to provide the latest global technology models and this car will most likely be launched in the next 2-3 years," Masahiro Takedagawa, President and CEO of Honda's Indian joint venture Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI), revealed on the occasion of the unveiling of an upgraded version of the luxury sedan Accord.

Available in three variants, the base version of Accord has been priced at Rs. 14.92 lakh and the top-end at Rs. 17.32 lakh (both ex-showroom Delhi), a premium of about Rs. 38,000 over the price of the earlier Accord.

Mr. Takedagawa said the company which manufactured cars at its Greater Noida facility in Uttar Pradesh, would be setting up a second plant in India with an investment of $200 million (around Rs. 900 crore) through internal accruals. The plant is likely to come up in Rajasthan.

Honda sells models like sedans City, Civic and Accord. It will be doubling its capacity at its Greater Noida plant to one lakh units by 2007, while the new plant will have an installed production capacity of 2.50 lakh units, though the company will start with 50,000 units.

Company Vice-President and Director N. K. Goila said Honda had been making net profit in India over the last five years, and it was Rs. 220 crore in 2005-06.

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