Over the past couple of years, Honda seemed to have lost the plot in India completely. Over reliance on the petrol model portfolio along with premium pricing saw sales dwindling rapidly even as the double whammy of the Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami earlier this year meant that the automaker was facing an uphill battle not just in India, but globally as well. Adding to Honda’s woes, a recall of its flagship model, the all new Honda City, over faulty valve shims only compounded thee brand’s problems in India and raised question over Honda’s premium pricing for the perceived quality it offered. Things however have changed rapidly over the past couple of months, and have taken a very positive turn.
The fightback began with Honda cutting Honda City prices by a whopping INR 66,000 on account 0f increased localization resulting in cost savings. Immediately, Honda City sales picked up and the car is now the second largest selling sedan in its category, only behind the Hyundai Verna Fluidic. The price cut for the City, in a sense was quite unlike Honda, a brand which always has commanded a significant premium in the Indian market for the high perceived quality. Even so, it reflected the stark reality of the Indian car market, a place that is extremely competitive with rival brands offering similar quality to that of Honda at hugely competitive prices.
Honda Jazz Facelift
The Indian car buyer too, being the biggest beneficiary of heightened competition has responded accordingly. After the Honda City’s price cut, Honda pulled off another big, big surprise when the Honda Jazz saw a massive discount to the tune of INR 1.75 Lakhs on account of stock clearance, to make way for the facelifted model. While the move left plenty of existing Honda Jazz owners fuming, it also heralded a new strategy for Honda, of that of volumes. Even as the folks who bought the Jazz at the hugely discounted prices are grinning from ear to ear, Honda has just unveiled the facelifted model of the Honda Jazz for a killer starting price of INR 5.5 Lakhs.
At that price, the Honda Jazz, which has always been a high quality and hugely practical upmarket hatchback, seems like a very good buy for those looking for a high quality and spacious petrol hatchback. So, expect Jazz sales to pick up quite dramatically over the next few months. However, as the bookings for the new Maruti Suzuki Swift Diesel has demonstrated with a 80:20 split in bookings in favor of the diesel, the Honda Jazz, being available only with a petrol engine might still be a marginal seller, although it numbers may be much higher than the abysmal numbers it has been doing before the price cut.
Honda Brio Small CarThe other big takeaway from the Honda Jazz’s terrific pricing is the fact that Honda has now given itself plenty of breathing space to price the upcoming Honda Brio Hatchback very competitively. The Honda Brio Hatchback is expected to be launched sometime next month, and with the Honda Jazz beginning at INR 5.5 Lakhs, there’s a fat chance that the Honda Brio could be priced at least a Lakh lesser, at around INR 4.5 Lakhs, which looks very alluring indeed, given that the car in question is a Honda. That said, the Brio Hatchback, while having the potential to bring in very decent volumes for Honda at that price point, also misses a diesel engine option.
However, Honda could probably detune the 90 Bhp-1.2 liter i-VTEC petrol engine in order to extract the best mileage out of the Brio. Also, since the Brio is significantly lighter than the Jazz expect the fuel efficiency number to be better than the Jazz right from the word go. If Honda indeed does some detuning, which it should ideally do in the interest of the masses who want the best fuel economy, the Brio could be one of the most frugal petrol cars in India this side of the Tata Nano. In essence, the Honda Jazz’s killer price point has opened up a raft of possibilities for the Honda brand in India. Now, can we please have diesel engines, Honda?
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