Honda Cars India Limited (HCIL) will make a fresh attempt to sell hybrid cars and SUVs in the country after it stopped selling the hybrid versions of the Civic and the Accord because of dwindling sales.

The company will launch a hybrid sedan in the next fiscal and is preparing to launch an SUV, Rajesh Goel, senior vice-president and director, marketing and sales, HCIL, said when asked about the company’s electrification programme at the launch of the new Amaze last week.

Globally, Honda has declared that by 2040, it will sell only electric vehicles. In India, the company will start its electrification programme with hybrids first.

The company which has shut its Noida plant last year and has downsized its staff and operations to make the business more viable is aiming to post a double-digit growth this fiscal.

“We are now looking at double-digit growth. The sales momentum in July has been good and gives us hope that demand will sustain in the market,” Goel said.

The company is banking on the new Amaze — that will retail in the range of Rs 6.32 lakh to Rs 11. 15 lakh— to help it achieve its target. “The Amaze has been a huge success. It, along with City, contributes 80 per cent of the sales. The rest 20 per cent of sales come from the W-RV and the Jazz,” said Goel.

He said that 68 per cent of Amaze’s sales come from smaller cities and 40 per cent of its customers are first-time buyers.

Honda scooters

Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India Ltd (HMSI) expects its scooter sales to rise once educational campuses reopen.

Scooters comprised 30 per cent of its sales in pre-Covid times and the company managed to keep it at that level through the pandemic. But now as schools and colleges are set to reopen, the company hopes to increase its scooter sales.

“We are waiting for schools and colleges to reopen that will push up our scooter sales,” said Yadvinder Singh Guleria, director, sales and marketing, HMSI. The company recently launched the CB200X in the 180-200cc motorcycle category.