Honda Cars India to appoint Takashi Nakajima as new President & CEO

Honda Motor Co. has appointed Takashi Nakajima as the new president and CEO of Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL). Nakajima will take charge from April 1, 2025, consequent to the management changes announced annually by the Japanese automaker.

Nakajima will take over from Takuya Tsumura, who moves to Japan at Honda head office after completing his India tenure.

Honda’s share in India’s passenger vehicle market is roughly 2%. In contrast, the Japanese automaker’s two-wheeler unit in India, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India, has seen its market share become the second-largest after Hero MotoCorp.

During his three-year tenure in India, Tsumura was instrumental in fortifying the premium brand positioning of Honda in India. He spearheaded the introduction of several premium models in India including India’s first mainstream hybrid model Honda City e:HEV, Honda’s new global SUV Elevate, All New 3rd Generation Amaze and laying the foundation for launch of future models including Honda’s first Battery Electric Vehicle for India. During his tenure, HCIL saw strong expansion in its export business with start of export of Made in India Elevate to Japan.

Tsumura’s strong focus on new age communication led to many integrated marketing campaigns targeting consumers across age profiles. In his role, he emphasised on achieving operational efficiencies at company and dealership level and led several initiatives in the field of sales and service to enhance customer experience and dealer profitability.

Nakajima joined Honda in 1994 and has been associated with Honda Motor Co. Ltd. for more than 30 years. He has gained vast experience having worked in various positions of responsibility in several international markets like Japan, China, Spain, Czech Republic and Russia in the areas of Business Planning, Product Planning, Marketing and Sales Promotion. He has been serving as President of Honda Motor Russia since 2021. During his latest assignment, he was also in-charge of Product Planning, Marketing and Corporate Communication for Honda’s automobile business in domestic Japan Market.

Honda Motor Co, in a media briefing on the company’s motorcycle business, recently said it has steadily increased sales volume in two-wheelers to the point where the largest market share in India is within reach.