Honda to start producing Asia car in Indonesia<\/p>\n
By Russell Williamson<\/p>\n
Honda will begin building its new Honda City in Indonesia in
\nabout September this year.<\/p>\n
The car will be built alongside Honda's existing Civic and
\nAccord models by PT Prospect Motor and sold through PT Imora
\nMotor's distribution network.<\/p>\n
The City, a four-door sedan slightly smaller than the Civic,
\nhas been developed by Honda specifically to meet the needs of the
\nAsian region.<\/p>\n
Although the company has yet to announce pricing, Honda will
\nbe trying hard to introduce the car at a price to compete with
\nthe national Timor car.<\/p>\n
In Thailand, where the car was launched last month, it sells
\nfor about US$15.000, but this is with 70 percent local Thai
\ncontent.<\/p>\n
However, Honda has already said that it plans to use
\ncomponents manufactured in Indonesia for its cars built in
\nThailand and vice versa.<\/p>\n
Under the ASEAN Brand-to-Brand Complementation Scheme, this
\nwould allow Honda in Indonesia to import components from Thailand
\nand use them as local content to reduce tariffs, thereby helping
\nit to achieve its low-price target.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the launch of the car in Thailand, the president
\nand CEO of Honda Motor Co, Nobuhiko Kawamoto, said the Honda City
\nwas \"the first in the world designed and developed to meet the
\nneeds of customers in Thailand and Asia\".<\/p>\n
Nobuhiko also announced the opening of a new production
\nfacility in Thailand and the establishment of a regional head
\noffice in Bangkok to look after all ASEAN markets.<\/p>\n
He said this was part of Honda's strategy of \"Globalization
\nthrough Localization\", which was a philosophy designed to respect
\nthe diversity of the region and ensure the local community reaps
\nthe benefits of a growing automotive industry.<\/p>\n
\"Together, these events symbolize the growing relationship
\nbetween Honda and our customers and the local communities in
\nThailand and other Asian countries,\" Nobuhiko said.<\/p>\n
He said Honda's localization strategy in the growing Asian
\nmarkets had now progressed from local production to the next
\nlogical step, the development of a new model for the region.<\/p>\n
In designing the car, Honda's engineers have taken the human
\nelement as the most important and largely structured the car
\naround that.<\/p>\n
Consequently, despite the City's small exterior dimensions
\n(1,454mm wide and 4,225mm long), it can comfortably seat four
\nadults and has a trunk with a luggage capacity of 385 liters.<\/p>\n
The interior of the car is well laid out with all controls
\neasy to operate. In Thailand, three model variants are offered,
\nwith the mid-range EXi and top-of-the-range LXi featuring power
\nsteering, power windows and power central locking.<\/p>\n
The air-conditioning system, standard in the LXi, has been
\ndesigned specifically to deal with the high temperatures and
\nhumidity of Southeast Asia, with large outlets inside the car and
\nseparate ducts for the air conditioner and the demister.<\/p>\n
The car also features green glass to reduce direct sunlight,
\nthereby keeping the cabin temperature lower.<\/p>\n
The City is powered by a 1.3-liter four-cylinder 16-valve
\nengine which is light and fuel efficient. Maximum power is 70kW
\nat 6400rpm with a maximum torque figure of 120Nm at 4700rpm.<\/p>\n
The electronic fuel injection system is a modified version of
\nthat found in the Civic and has been designed to run on the
\npetrol octane ratings available in the region.<\/p>\n
In Thailand, the City is offered with either a five-speed
\nmanual transmission or a four-speed automatic transmission, both
\nalso derived from the latest-generation Civic.<\/p>\n
The monocoque body is highly rigid for both safety reasons and
\nto ensure high levels of stability and ride comfort and low
\nlevels of noise vibration and harshness.<\/p>\n
A simple independent strut-type suspension has been employed
\nto cope with both rough roads and for easy repair. This system
\nalso allows a lower suspension tower enabling a lower front
\nbonnet height for improved visibility and less intrusion into the
\ntrunk space in the rear.<\/p>\n
Braking power comes from power-assisted front ventilated discs
\nand rear drums which are actuated by low-input pedal pressure for
\nstop-start driving conditions.<\/p>\n
While the designers set out to engineer a car that was
\nrelatively cheap to build, it was also necessary to make it
\nrelatively easy and cheap to repair.<\/p>\n
As such, the Honda City features a number of unique properties
\nto aid its repairability.<\/p>\n
Both front and rear bumpers are in three sections, so, in a
\ncrash, the whole bumper does not have to be replaced.<\/p>\n
Also, in response to the high incidence of flooding in the
\nregion, the car's electronic control unit is positioned high on
\nthe chassis to eliminate the possibility of immersion in water,
\nwhile the chassis is sealed to minimize water intrusion and
\nextend its durability.<\/p>",
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