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Rethinking the Map: Honda’s New India Bet

As Chinese automakers reshape global competition, Honda elevates India to top-tier market status and reboots its future around SUVs, EVs, and software-led engineering. With 10 new models, a made-in-India EV, an ASEAN battery hedge, and a new India strategy team, Honda begins its most ambitious reset in two decades.

By Kiran Murali, Hormazd Sorabjee & Ketan Thakkar

03 Dec 2025

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Rethinking the Map: Honda’s New India Bet

Honda has never been in the business of theatrics. Its decisions tend to surface gradually—more like a smooth build up of torque than a burst of horsepower. Yet its latest strategic declaration carries enough weight to shift the industry conversation: Honda now places India shoulder-to-shoulder with North America and Japan as one of its three core global markets.

It is a recalibration that says less about a sudden affection for India and more about how global automotive tectonics are moving. Scale, geopolitics, supply chains, and rising competition—particularly from fast-moving Chinese automakers—have pushed even Japan’s most measured companies to redraw ...

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