Honda to add 500 dealers in China over five years

Shanghai, November 4 (Gasgoo.com) Honda Motor plans to add about 500 car dealerships in China in the coming five years to meet market demand, Bloomberg reported today, citing a company executive. The No. 2 Japanese carmaker will have 760 dealerships in China by the end of 2009, with 80 added this year.

"Our customer base in China's interior is growing, so we have to increase dealerships in those areas in addition to the coasts," Honda Motor's CFO Yoichi Hojo said at the company's headquarters in Tokyo today. Honda is expanding its sales network in China as demand rises for Accord sedans and City compacts, he added.

Honda Motor is producing at full capacity in China and will likely have to increase its manufacturing ability, Hojo added. Its Chinese venture Dongfeng Honda is preparing for building its second plant in central China's Wuhan city by March next year.

The carmaker expects China sales to increase 16% to 550,000 vehicles this year ending in December. Sales in China for the fiscal year ending in March will exceed an original forecast by 50,000 units, Hojo said.

Honda has tripled its full-year profit forecast as government stimulus measures boosted vehicle sales in China and Japan, and raised its sales forecast for the Asia region excluding Japan to 910,000 vehicles.