NEW DELHI, India, February 25, 2008 – Honda Siel Cars India, leading manufacturer of premium cars in India, inaugurated its new production facility at Greater Noida, with an enhanced capacity of 100,000 vehicles per annum.

The new facility, with a host of world-class manufacturing techniques and technological advancements, was inaugurated by T. Oyama, President & CEO, Asian Honda Motors Co, in the presence of a galaxy of senior Honda officials, stake holders and   Honda partners.

With the completion of this enhancement of production capacity at the Greater Noida facility, HSCI has increased its capacity from 50,000 units to 100,000 units per annum. The capacity expansion was necessitated due to the excellent performance of all the Honda models – Honda City, Honda Civic and Honda Accord.

Apart from doubling the capacity, several advanced manufacturing techniques and robots have been used in the plant to enhance quality and accuracy of operations. The Weld Shop now has 27 Robots and the new Paint Shop has 12 Robots to apply the finishing top-coat to the vehicles. This automation will speed up the manufacturing process and also increase efficiency on the line.

The new, ergonomic layout of the assembly line and other work areas ensures a stress-free environment for associates.

To strengthen safety on the shop floor, HSCI has installed sophisticated sensors for the safety of its associates. Countermeasures automatically get activated if there is a safety breach anywhere in the plant.

The new and enhanced facility is in line with Honda’s latest global plants with great emphasis on environment protection and safety. This facility will promote greenery through plantations; have better water recycling and waste management allowing sustainable development of the environment.  

With this investment, HSCI has invested a total of Rs 1,620 crore at the Greater Noida manufacturing facility since its establishment in 1997.

Speaking on the occasion, M. Takedagawa, President and CEO, HSCI, said, “As we expand our presence in India, we are conscious of our commitment to the environment. Apart from setting up the mandatory infrastructure for water recycling and waste management, we have also set ourselves very stiff CO2 emission and waste reduction targets for our plant. Innovative use of solar power and recycled water will ensure conservation of scarce natural resources such as water and power.”

Elaborating on the company’s future plans, Takedagawa said, “Having completed the capacity expansion to 100,000 units annually, we are also gearing up to start operations of our second plant in Rajasthan by 2009.”

The enhancement of HSCI manufacturing facility also includes expansion of the covered area in the plant, from 1,07,000 sq. m. to 1,31,794 sq m.

The Greater Noida plant has a total land area of over 600,000 sq m (150 acres). The plant currently produces Honda City, Honda Civic and Honda Accord models, with an indigenization level of 79%, 72% and 34% respectively.