Honda Names Takashi Nakajima as the President and CEO of Honda Cars India

Takashi Nakajima was named President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Honda Cars India (HCIL) by Japanese automaker Honda Motor Company on Monday, with effect from April 1.

The announcement came after Honda Motor Company's yearly management changes. Takuya Tsumura will be replaced by Nakajima, who joined Honda in 1994. After serving for three years in India, Tsumura will return to Japan to join Honda's headquarters, the company announced in a statement.

Nakajima, a 30-year veteran of Honda, has served as President of Honda Motor Russia since 2021. He has also worked in business planning, product planning, marketing, and sales promotion in a number of other foreign markets, including Japan, China, Spain, and the Czech Republic.

According to media reports quoting Honda, Tsumura was instrumental in boosting the carmaker's premium brand image, fortifying customer-focused initiatives, and fostering profitable growth during his three years in India. He oversaw the introduction of a number of high-end models, such as the third-generation Amaze, the global SUV Honda Elevate, and India's first mainstream hybrid, the Honda City e:HEV.

The leadership change coincides with Honda's plans to launch a battery-electric vehicle based on its Elevate SUV and two other potent hybrid vehicles in India as it gets ready to start its electrification journey in the upcoming fiscal year. Additionally, the company is working on ACE (Asian Compact Electric), a compact electric vehicle project that should be completed next year and have 50–70% of its production exported.

The Amaze, City, and Elevate are the three models that Honda Cars India currently offers. The carmaker sold 53,081 units in India between April and January of this fiscal year, accounting for 1.5% of the market, and exported 50,866 units.