Monday, May 11, 2009

Honda Vrooms Ahead with Four Honours at CarWale Awards 2009


CarWale , India ’s foremost online car directory, concluded the second edition of its CarWale Awards 2009 - India ’s only consumer choice car awards – receiving around 1.6 lakh votes. And Honda, one of the leading manufacturers of premium cars in India , sped away with four awards this year while Mahindra and Mahindra bagged two honours. Other category winners included Maruti Suzuki Swift, Toyota Innova and Audi R8.

A clear favourite, Honda picked up honours in both consumer as well as jury-led categories. Commenting on this spectacular win, Mr. Masahiro Takedagawa, President & CEO, Honda Siel Cars India Ltd. (HSCI) said, “These awards are a matter of great pride for all of us at HSCI. Honda is a consumer-centric company and we continue to bring in products and services which are best-in-class and exceed our customers’ expectations. As a responsible Corporate, Honda has provided vehicles that are technologically advanced, fuel-efficient, environment-friendly and safe.

“We, at Honda Siel Cars India, are committed to take this mission forward with each new product that we launch in this market. We are delighted to receive these prestigious awards and would like to thank our customers and channels partners who have supported and shown trust in our brand.”

The Honda City bagged two awards, including ‘ India ’s favourite car for self-driven executives 2009’ and the coveted ‘New Car of the Year 2009’ prize. Honda Accord won the ‘India’s favourite car for chaffeur-driven executives 2009’ accolade and the India’s Favourite Car for Enthusiasts 2009 honour was received by Honda Civic.

Having received the award for India ’s Favourite Car for Large Families 2009, Sandeep Singh, Deputy Managing Director, Toyota Kirloskar Motors said, “It is heartening to see that Indian consumers have chosen Toyota Innova as the most preferred car for their families. The new Innova is the market leader in its segment and has been widely appreciated by its customers for its advanced and dynamic styling.”

In the jury-led categories, Mumbai Traffic Police, which was a strong contender, picked up the Safety initiative award 2009. Mahindra and Mahindra drove away with the Environment initiative award 2009 for introducing its start-stop hybrid technology in India.

Commenting on the win, Group president for Mahindra and Mahindra, Dr. Pawan Goenka said, “At Mahindra and Mahindra, we strive to set new standards in quality and customer service. We are a highly customer-focused company and develop products which provide great value. We appreciate the CarWale’s efforts to bring this award which would help us develop better customer insight.”

Winners in the various consumer-led categories included:
India's Favourite Car for Small Families 2009: Maruti Suzuki Swift
India's Favourite Car for Large Families 2009: Toyota Innova
India's Favourite Car for Self-driven Executives 2009: Honda City
India's Favourite Car for Chauffeur-driven Executives 2009: Honda Accord
India's Favourite Car for Offroading Activities 2009: Mahindra Scorpio
India's Favourite Car for Enthusiasts 2009: Honda Civic
Aspirational Car of India 2009: Audi R8

“The CarWale Awards 2009 categories were designed to recognize the Indian automotive industry’s best in class as well as outstanding efforts in innovation, safety and environmentally-friendly initiatives,” said Mohit Dubey, CarWale.com’s CEO. “The response received this year has made the Indian consumer's choice explicitly clear and we congratulate each and every winner for demonstrating their superiority in providing world-class automotive offerings.”

Winners for the jury-led categories ranged from multinationals to government-led bodies such as:
New Car of the Year 2009 (jury driven): Honda City
Safety Initiative of the Year 2009 (jury driven): Mumbai Traffic Police
Environment Initiative of the Year 2009 (jury driven): Mahindra and Mahindra (Micro-Hybrid Technology)