Honda aims for new Asian marts

Honda aims for new Asian marts

SINGAPORE (AFP): Japan's Honda Motor Co. said yesterday that it would launch a new series of 1.3- and 1.5-liter engine cars for the Asian market in Thailand next year as it gears for rising competition on the region's roads.

Some 15,000 cars will be produced before the launch set for May 1996, said Yoshihide Munekuni, executive vice-president of Honda.

"Thailand was chosen to launch the new series of Honda cars because it offered Honda the largest percentage of market share in terms of passenger cars in the Asia-Pacific region -- about 15 per cent," added Minoru Harada, a director of the firm.

He said the new models would be more affordable than the Honda Civic and the Accord, but did not give details.

"Honda's philosophy is to ensure customers' satisfaction and provide good service to its customers," Munekuni said, and hinted that the new series would be a "concept car" tailored to the needs of individual markets.

Harada said competition from US and South Korean car-makers in the Asian market was becoming more intense, while production costs in Japan had increased.

Thailand's automobile market has been expanding steadily in recent years. In 1992, Honda sold 19,500 units in Thailand. The number grew to 24,000 in 1994 and 32,000 units in 1995.

In line with the increasing demand, Honda plans to construct a new assembly plant in Bangkok's Rojana Industrial Park in April 1996, along with a stamping plant for automobile bodies.

The new plant, which will be the hub of Honda's Asian auto production, will be equipped to produce 20,000 units, including the Accord and the Civic, in the first year. Production could be increased to 60,000 units by 1998.

Honda Motor Co. produces automobiles in Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan and Pakistan.

It clinched a US$260 million joint venture this week with India's Siel Ltd. for the production and sales of cars in India.