HYDERABAD (TIP): Japanese auto major Honda Cars India Limited (HCIL) expects its newly launched third generation Honda Jazz to rev up the company’s sales and help it register a double digit growth in FY16 surpassing the industry growth figures, said HCIL senior vice-president (marketing and sales) Jnaneswar Sen here on Wednesday. The company sold 1.89 lakh units last fiscal.

“During the first quarter of this fiscal, we have registered a growth of 9% and are hopeful that the launch of the new Jazz will help us attain a double digit growth in 2015-16,” Sen said on the sidelines of the launch of third generation Honda Jazz in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Sen pointed out that the auto industry is expected to grow at 8-9% this fiscal, which is “neither good nor bad” and HCIL expects to outstrip this growth.

On the expansion of the company’s dealership network he said, HCIL had 232 dealerships in FY15 and this fiscal, it expects to add another 68.

Sen pointed out that the all new Jazz has been developed at Honda’s R&D Centre located in Tochigi, Japan. The car has been designed on the basis of results obtained from extensive market surveys across the world, including India, for people’s driving needs and lifestyles. The petrol variants of the compact hatchback are priced between Rs 5,40,900 – Rs 7,98,500 (ex-showroom Hyderabad), while its diesel variants are priced between Rs 6,62,900 – Rs 8,75,500 (ex-showroom Hyderabad), the company said.

The new Jazz will be manufactured at the company’s Tapukara plant in Rajasthan, which is being expanded at an overall cost of Rs 380 crore to increase the total annual capacity to 3 lakh per annum from the current 2.4 lakh per annum. The company has also acquired land in Gujarat to cater to its long-term manufacturing plans, he added.