Guangzhou Honda Automobile Co Ltd raised its sales forecast 15 percent to 340,000 units for next year on anticipated demand for the new Accord.
The target includes 178,000 Accords, 42,000 Odyssey multi-purpose vehicles as well as 60,000 Fit compact sedans and 60,000 City economy cars, according to Eiji Okawara, president of Honda's venture with Guangzhou Automobile Group Corp.
Yesterday, Guangzhou Honda held a ceremony as the new Accord rolled off the assembly line at its Zengcheng plant in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province.
The new Accord, its eighth generation worldwide, is bigger and more muscular than previous versions. It is equipped with a 2.4-liter engine and hits the domestic market on January 6, said Fu Shoujie, executive vice president of Guangzhou Honda.
Two-liter and 3.5-liter versions will follow.
The new Accord is crucial in Honda's attempt to win back the sales crown of top-selling mid- to high-end sedan from Toyota's Camry. It's also a key strategy in Guangzhou Honda's plan to rev up sales amid intensified competition in China, the world's second-largest auto market.
Toyota set a sales target of 175,000 Camrys for next year.
Guangzhou Honda reported sales of 295,000 units this year. Despite a 13.5-percent sales increase from a year earlier, the car maker still failed to meet its original target of 310,000 units due to a lack of new models.
Fu Shoujie said the sales target will be secured with the launch of a revamped Fit in 2008 as it fits demand of fuel efficient cars.
Honda will add 450 dealerships, expanding its network to 800 nationwide, next year.
"The market will maintain 15-percent growth to reach 10 million units next year with more fierce competition," said Fu, "We aim to leverage more efforts to lift our own research and development capability to take the lead in industrial development."