Tokyo: Japanese automaker Honda Motor Co. has announced a new model of its HondaJet small business aircraft.

The HondaJet Elite II, produced and sold by U.S. unit Honda Aircraft Co., marks the third modeling of the company’s business jet, according to an announcement Tuesday.

The new model with a larger fuel tank increases the maximum takeoff weight by 91 kilograms. Its maximum travel distance is 2,865 kilometers, up by 204 kilometers.

The aircraft’s basic price starts at 6.95 million dollars. Deliveries will begin next month.

The unit is set to equip aircraft with the latest safety technology from next year.

A function that automatically controls speed and engine power will be introduced in the first half of next year, and an emergency landing system for situations in which the pilot loses consciousness will be added in the second half.

Honda had delivered a total of 219 units of the HondaJet aircraft as of the end of June this year.

It delivered 37 units in 2021, making it the most popular small business aircraft in the world that year.

JIJI Press