Honda looks to cash in on India’s FTA with ASEAN

Economic Times | 25 Sep 2008

Honda looks to cash in on India’s FTA with ASEAN

PTI

NEW DELHI: Japanese car major Honda Motor Company is looking to cash in on India’s Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the ASEAN countries to eventually make the operations here a key part of its global business.

"India is a big market and we have made big investments in expanding our business. We will continue to invest in this market in future to the delight of our customers," Honda Motor Co’s President and CEO Takeo Fukui told reporters here.

With the implementation of FTA between India and ASEAN countries, the company now plans to source components from India for its manufacturing sites at other locations, specially in the South-East Asian countries.

"The FTA between India and ASEAN countries will create new opportunities for our operations in India, specially in sharing components. With FTA, lot of components can be sourced from India and there will be a lot of possibilities for Indian vendors to supply to our global operations," Asian Honda Motor Co President and CEO Fumihiko Ike said.

The current level of component sourcing, however, is low, he added.

Honda Siel Cars India President and CEO Masahiro Takedagawa said the company could "enjoy volume advantage" by sharing
components between India and these ASEAN countries.

Model like City, has high local components in India but low in Thailand. It could benefit from Indian components in Thailand once the FTA kicks in next year, he added.

"Similarly Civic has low local components in India, but high in Thailand. With this FTA, this can even out," he said.

HSCI today launched the third generation of its sedan, City, in India, priced between Rs 7.7 lakh and Rs 8.9 lakh.

source : Economic Times

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