Honda is being discussed as a brand that could significantly benefit from the proposed India-EU Free Trade Agreement. As a mass premium brand that currently faces a challenge in the Indian market as many of its international models are too expensive to import as Completely Built Units (CBUs) due to high duties, yet they lack the high sales volume required to justify the investment of local assembly. This has left a gap in their lineup that a reduction in import duties could help fill.
\
A specific example of a model that could be brought to India under these new trade terms is the Honda Prelude. By lowering the barriers to entry for such vehicles, Honda would be able to offer a more diverse product range, which would improve the overall health of its dealer network and make the brand more appealing to enthusiasts.
The brands like Honda, the FTA is essential for introducing models where the current pricing—inflated by taxes—does not reflect the actual value of the car. Both are two seperate things. The Honda CRV ehEV and Civic Type R which are above 40,000 Euros in price could come to India in the future with lucrative pricing. However, Honda had plans to launch it in 2026 itself. Honda is the only company which benefits from all FTA’s such as USA, UK and EU FTA as their legacy plants in these countries have produced some iconic models since decades. However, all this should come to fruitition in a later date and if Honda decides to move ahead rapidly and infact willing to move ahead to consider all these products in the first place for Indian market. Given Honda’s recent commitment for import cars, this should happen, but we just don’t when.
