Honda, Toyota, Nissan to launch low-priced cars in emerging markets - report

Japanese automaker Honda Motor Co Ltd (NYSE:HMC) , Nissan Motor Co Ltd (NASDAQ:NSANY) and Toyota Motor Corp (NYSE:TM) will release vehicles priced at around 700,000 yen to 1 million yen in Brazil, Russia, India and China, to take advantage of surging demand in these nations, the Nikkei reported on Wednesday.

Honda has decided to design a new model that is smaller than its Fit compact car, with engine
displacement of 1.3- and 1.5-liter engines and will release it India in 2010 or later, the business daily said, without citing sources.

Nissan, which is developing a 1-liter small car for release in 2009, has agreed with French
partner Renault SA to turn the project into a joint one, the Nikkei said. The two companies will assemble and sell new models using the same platform under each of their brand names.

Nissan and Renault aim to keep the price of the new models at around 6,000 to 8,000 dollars, the Nikkei said. Nissan plans to roll out 500,000 to 600,000 units of the new model from plants in India, Thailand, and China starting in 2009.

For its part, Toyota plans to develop an entry-level family car for emerging markets, hoping to
gradually enter production in such countries as India in 2010 and beyond, according to Nikkei.

(1 US dollar = 114.32 yen)