Honda’s Chinese joint venture launches first mass market model

A Chinese joint venture of Honda Motor Co. has released the Li Nian S1 sedan series, the Japanese automaker said. The series, which hit the Chinese market on April 17, is the first mass-market model under the Li Nian brand launched by the joint venture, Guangqi Honda Automobile Co. The S1 is equipped with a 1,300-c.c. or 1,500-c.c. engine. The series is more affordable than similar-sized Honda brand cars, with prices starting from 69,800 yuan (US$10,683). A 1,300-c.c. manual transmission version can travel 100 kilometers with 6.1 liters of gasoline. Honda hopes to sell 30,000 to 50,000 units a year. Orders have already topped 3,000 units, it said. (April 18,2011)