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Japanese auto majors postpone India plans

NEW DELHI: The devastation caused by massive earthquake in Japan has forced leading Japanese automakers like Honda and Toyota to postpone their major plans in India, besides take stock of the situation to minimise the impact of the calamity on their Indian operations.

For instance, Honda on Monday said it had postponed the preview of its much-awaited compact car Brio in India, which was originally scheduled for this week, while Toyota had already postponed the official inauguration of its second manufacturing facility in Bangalore.

“In light of the recent devastating earthquake that hit Japan, causing massive damage to life and property, Honda Siel Cars India has postponed the Honda Brio India preview event scheduled to be held on March 17,” the company said in a statement. Honda had unveiled the prototype of the car in Bangkok last year and had announced plans to introduce it in India in 2011 with a price tag of less than Rs.5 lakh. Honda Motor Company is present in India through a joint venture with the Siel Group. Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), which is present in India through a joint venture with the Kirloskar Group, has invested Rs.3,200 crore to set up a car facility that rolls out its sedan Etios, launched in December last year. Similarly, aruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) has cancelled the celebrations to mark one-crore production milestone in India scheduled for Tuesday due to destruction in Japan. The company is also assessing the possible impact of the calamity on its components import from its parent Suzuki Motor Corporation. “This is a big tragedy on mankind. That is why we are not doing anything on our one crore production mark. We have cancelled everything, this is not the time to celebrate,'' MSIL Chairman R. C. Bhargava said.

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