Honda Cars India crosses 2 million production units

After celebrating 25 years of the City midsize sedan in India, Honda crossed another milestone — its two millionth car produced in our market. Honda started manufacturing in India in late 1997, starting with the City, the sales of which commenced the following year.

The milestone vehicle was, fittingly, a new Honda City sedan, which rolled off the production line at the brand’s plant in Tapukara, Rajasthan. This is currently the brand’s only facility, following the closure of its original Greater Noida facility in 2020 due to the pandemic.  

The Honda India and Asia regional senior management were present at the production line as the milestone was crossed. “The historic milestone of 2 million production roll out in India is a testimony to Honda’s commitment to the ‘Make in India’ initiative for the last 25 years,” said Takuya Tsumura, president and CEO, Honda Cars India, commenting on the occasion.

Honda says it has invested over ₹10,000 crore in India over the last quarter century and its production capacity of 180,000 units is for both domestic sales and exports. Apart from being retailed through 330 outlets across India, the City and Amaze sedans are currently exported from India to 16 other markets.

Given Honda’s newfound focus on SUVs, what might come as a bit of a surprise, then, is that the brand will also be abandoning diesel next year. With the advent of stricter RDE emissions norms, the brand’s sole 1.5-litre diesel engine will not be upgraded and instead dropped entirely. Future Hondas will be petrol and petrol-hybrids only.