Honda working on new-concept car for NAmerica

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

Detroit, Jan 8: Honda Motor Co. is working ondeveloping a new-concept vehicle for the North American market forlaunch around 2010, the Japanese auto maker's regional chief said.

''To make sure we continue growing, we need to strengthen saleswithin our existing product line-up. But we're also working onlaunching a new-concept-type vehicle by around 2010,'' Koichi Kondo,chief executive officer of Honda North America and American HondaMotor, told reporters at the North American International Auto Show.

Kondo declined to provide details, but said the product would notbelong to the pickup truck segment or the segment below the Fitsubcompact model.

''We're working hard right now to come up with the best type ofvehicle,'' he said, adding the product should not cannibalize sales ofits existing models.

The new car, Kondo said, would hope to repeat the success of itsCR-V crossover, which was a unique, car-based sport utility vehicle atthe time of its inception. Crossovers now make up more than half of SUVsales in the United States.

Honda is also developing a new hybrid-only ''family car'' targetedfor launch in 2009, with annual sales targeted at 100,000 units inNorth America. Honda has said it wants to sell a total 2 millionvehicles in North America by 2010.

Kondo said Honda was also aiming to beef up its Acura premiumbrand, which has lagged rival Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexusby miles despite an earlier launch.

''A new sports car could probably raise Acura's image,'' Kondosaid. ''I'm aware that some people have been calling for a V8 model.

We haven't made any decisions, but I guess one day we're going toneed one.'' Acura unveiled an ''advance sports car concept'' model atthe Detroit show on Sunday that will succeed the NSX sports car. Itwill be powered by a huge V10 engine.

Kondo said Acura would aim to join Mercedes, BMW and Lexus as tier-one premium brands over the next five to 10 years.

Honda has targeted U.S. sales of 1.56 million units this year, up3.3 percent from 2006 when it boosted its market share to 9.1 percent.

A shortage of parts for four-cylinder engines significantly reinedin Honda's car sales last year as consumers migrated from lessfuel-efficient V6 engines.

But Kondo said the bottleneck was more or less gone, and shouldease further as Honda reshuffles production and adds more engine andcar capacity in 2008.

Honda's sales are expected to get a further boost in 2008 from the remodelling of the popular Accord model this fall.

But Kondo predicted the overall U.S. market to shrink from lastyear's 16.8 million units to between 16 million and 16.5 million unitsthis year as the industry tries to keep a cap on sales incentives.

''We're expecting incentives both for the overall industry and atHonda to level out this year,'' he said, noting that Honda's averageincentives had risen for the past four years. ''That may cause apullback in demand this year,'' he added.


Reuters>

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