A Honda partner in Japan has launched its first own brand model at the Guangzhou motor show.
The Guangqi Honda brand Li Nian (Everus in English) launched a compact sedan model called S1 based on one of Honda’s small car platforms and using 1.3- and 1.5-litre petrol engines. It’s aimed at younger buyers and goes on sale next spring through current Guangqi Honda dealers.
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Guangqi Honda is taking full responsibility for each step launching the new car including design, production and sales.
Guangqi Honda, a JV between Honda Motor and Guangzhou Automobile, plans to sell 30,000-50,000 Everus units in 2011, company president Kanayama Hironori told Reuters.
“It is the dream of every Chinese automaker to create self-branded cars,” said Guangqi Honda executive vice-president Yao Yiming
“By introducing the Li Nian (Everus) brand, Honda will further expand its line-ups in China while continuously enhancing the quality of the brand to meet the diversifying needs of customers in the expanding China market,” Honda said in a statement.
It expects sales in China in 2010 to reach over 650,000 units, an increase of 20,000 units over the original plan. It expects 2011 sales of 730,000 units, up 12% year on year.
Guangqi Honda’s sales target for this year is 386,000 vehicles, a goal that executives said they would be able to achieve.
The JV also makes and sells Honda’s Accord, Odyssey, Fit (Jazz) and City cars in China and said earlier this year it would spend about CNY930m to double the annual capacity of its Zeng Cheng plant to 240,000 units. This will lift total production at the joint venture to 480,000 in 2012.
