Honda Cars India names Toshiyuki Yanagisawa president and CEO
Yanagisawa takes charge on October 1, succeeding Takashi Nakajima, and will jointly lead Honda Cars India and Honda Digital Innovation India as Honda builds its India growth plans toward a strategic vehicle launch in 2028.
What happened
Honda Cars India appointed Toshiyuki Yanagisawa as President and CEO from October 1, replacing Takashi Nakajima. Yanagisawa will jointly lead HCIL and Honda
Key facts
- October 1
- 2028
Why this matters
Unified leadership across Honda Cars India and Honda Digital Innovation India could make the company a more coordinated partner for local technology, mobility and ecosystem alliances.
What to watch
- Confirmation of the 2028 vehicle's powertrain, segment, localization level and production location.
- New capex, factory-utilization, export or supplier-development announcements from Honda Cars India.
- Hiring growth, leadership appointments or product mandates at Honda Digital Innovation India.
- Connected-car platform, app, subscription or dealer-system launches preceding the new vehicle.
- India-specific partnerships involving batteries, charging, software, telecom, maps or cloud providers.
- Changes in Honda India's model-launch cadence, dealer footprint and monthly retail momentum through 2026-2027.
- Announce a refreshed India mid-term plan with product, capacity, localization and electrification milestones.
- Integrate Honda Digital Innovation India into connected-car, CRM, dealer digitization and ownership-experience programs tied to upcoming models.
- Expand hiring or partnerships for automotive software, telematics, cybersecurity, cloud/data and AI-enabled customer support.
- Evaluate supplier localization for electronics, infotainment, connected-car hardware and EV-adjacent components.
- Reposition dealers for higher-value launches through digital retail, financing, service subscriptions and used-car retention initiatives.