Japanese car maker Honda has started shipping the premium hatchback Jazz to South Africa from its plant in Rajasthan in advance of the upcoming launch of the new version of the vehicle in India.

The company is manufacturing the new Jazz at Tapukara plant where it is spending Rs 380 crore to enlarge production capacity from 1.20 lakh units to 1.80 lakh units annually.

Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) Senior Vice-President (Marketing and Sales) Jnaneswar Sen told PTI, "We have already started the export of the new Jazz to South Africa from here. The vehicle is being produced at our Tapukara facility."

Last month the company shipped around 600 units of Jazz, City, Amaze and Brio to South Africa. A few cars were also exported to Nepal.

In India, the Jazz was first introduced in 2009 with a price of over Rs 7 lakh which was later reduced by Rs 1.6 lakh.

In 2013 the company put a stop to the production of the car in the country. The company expects to increase its sales network in the domestic market to around 200 cities and towns from the present 152.

Sen held, "In the current fiscal, we plan to expand sales network to over 300 outlets in around 200 locations from the current 232 showrooms in 152 cities. We are looking to expand more in smaller cities and towns."

By the end of 2016-17 fiscal, HCIL targets to touch 3 lakh unit sales milestones per annum. The company presently sells compact car compact sedan Amaze, compact car Brio, multipurpose vehicle Mobilio, mid-sized sedan City and premium sports utility vehicle CR-V.

Source:- delhidailynews.com