The 27th Thailand International Motor Expo, starting on November 30th, will witness the the world premiere of Honda's prototype of the new small-sized vehicle which is scheduled to be introduced in India and Thailand in the following year.

The new small-sized car will be manufactured in the Honda Siel Cars Greater Noida facility, which currently has an annual capacity of 100,000 units. The new hatchback car, developed exclusively for India's burgeoning small car market, will be positioned in the B+ segment and is expected to be priced below Rs. 500,000 (US$ 11,236).

Honda plans to introduce two versions of the small-sized car in the second half of 2011 in India.

In Thailand, Honda will introduce an eco-car model that complies with the country's high fuel efficiency standards.

Honda had earlier unveiled the new small car concept at the Auto Expo in Delhi in January 2010. Mr. Koichi Kondo, Executive Vice-President and Representative Director, Honda had then said that the car is designed for easy driving in the city. It has a compact body and offers cabin space for five people.

Honda's current least expensive offering is the Jazz premium hatchback whose base model comes at Rs. 698,000 in Delhi.

Honda Siel Cars India, a joint venture between Honda Motor, Japan and Siel Limited, a Siddharth Shriram Group company, set up its first manufacturing unit at Greater Noida, U.P in 1997. The green-field project is spread across 150 acres of land (over 600,000 sq.m).

Honda's second manufacturing facility is in Tapukara, Rajasthan currently produces auto components. Spread over 600 acres, this facility has a production capacity of 60,000 units per annum. Honda is currently is the 7th largest car maker in India. The total investment made by the company in India till date is over Rs. 8 billion.

The company's product range includes Honda Jazz, Honda City, Honda Civic and Honda Accord which are produced at the Greater Noida facility. The premium SUV, CR-V is sold as a fully imported unit from Japan. The company operates under the stringent standards of ISO 9001 for quality management and ISO 14001 for environment management.