Honda New Small Concept unveiled at Auto Expo

Honda New Small Concept, a small car concept was unveiled at the Auto Expo 2010. This is the first world premiere of a Honda small car concept anywhere outside Japan. Honda plans to start producing the Honda New Small in India by 2011.

We have a couple of photos of the Honda New Small Concept for you here. We will be adding more photos from the Auto Expo soon.

The price, features and specifications of the Honda New Small Concept are not available so far. However, reports said that the New Small Concept will come at a price below Rs 5 lakh when it is rolled out. Currently, the cheapest car from Honda in India is the Honda Jazz, which comes for nearly Rs 7 lakh.

Honda plans to launch the Honda New Small in India as well as Thailand. Brazil and some European countries may also be selected for the launch of the Honda New Small Concept.

Honda has developed the New Small Concept at its design unit in Japan. In India, the car is likely to be produced at the Honda Greater Noida factory.

Honda is likely to source components are raw materials for building the Honda New Small Concept from India suppliers and producers. This will help Honda keep the price of the new small car low and competitive. Leading Indian carmakers like Tata Motors and Maruti Suzuki make cars with high localisation, which help them price their cars competitively. Honda is already buying steel from Tata Steel in India.

In India, small cars enjoy a tax advantage: cars with length and engine capacity less than a certain threshold come under a lower tax bracket. Many domestic and foreign car-makers in India have made use of this tax sop to launch successful subcompact cars.

The Honda New Small will be able to seat five passengers comfortably, said Honda. The car has a front-forward design with a wide platform and a stable centre of gravity. Honda said that the New Small design is futuristic with maximum cabin space.

Toyota has also unveiled its small car concept for India, the Toyota Etios, in hatchback and sedan versions. The Toyota car though looks more production-ready than the New Small.

The main small car launches so far include the Volkswagen Polo and the Chevrolet Beat.