Japanese automobile maker Honda Cars India, which had sacrificed short-term profits as it built scale through new products and ramped up manufacturing capacities, now eyes breakeven and profits much before March 2017, indicated its president and chief executive Hironori Kanayama.

Currently, focusing predominantly on the domestic market and exporting less than 4% from two of its India facilities, the company will also explore the option of making India an export hub based on emerging opportunities in the African market.

Honda Cars, which had halved its losses to Rs 479 crore in 2013-14 with accumulated losses at Rs 1,848 crore, is upbeat on the prospects of the Indian market, especially after the encouraging response to its recent new launches. The automobile manufacturer has more than doubled its revenue by posting 83% growth in volumes at 1.3 lakh units during the fiscal to March 2014. It has now set a larger business goal of achieving sale of 3 lakh units a year by March 2017.

Kanayama told ET in Hyderabad on Thursday, that his company bucked the trend and posted over 80% growth in sales last fiscal when the Indian market actually declined. "We are confident that we can achieve growth much faster than the market.

Source:- economictimes.indiatimes.com