Honda eyes gains in India as premium models catch on

Japanese auto major Honda is preparing to cash in on the trend of consumers upgrading from "Maruti-dominated segment" in India by focusing on bigger car segments and reinforcing its premium positioning.

The company is also trying to incorporate learnings from its experience of launching "challenging models" like Amaze, Mobilio and B-RV as it nurtures hope of becoming a leading player in the long term future. "All these past years we have learnt many things by launching many challenging models like Amaze, Mobilio and BR-V. We learnt many things from India. There is a trend that customers are aiming for upgrade," Honda Motor Co Chief Operating Officer, Regional Operations (Asia & Oceania) Noriaki Abe said.

He further said: "Fortunately, they (customers) are shifting to our segment, not remaining in the Maruti-dominated segment."

Optimistic about cashing in on such development, Abe said: "We can use much of our resources that we have globally.

In the next stage we can strengthen our premium-ness in India." Going forward, he said, Honda will focus on segments where its global models like Civic and H-RV can play successful roles.

"With customers upgrading to segments where Honda is very strong, we can be very optimistic in the near future (in India). We are preparing strong competitive models in such segments," Abe said.

He, however, said the development of motorisation in the four-wheeler segment is slow compared to the two-wheeler segment and Honda hasn't set a target market share saying it still has a long way to go.