Honda yesterday lifted the wraps off its small car Brio designed for emerging markets India, China and Thailand. Last year the Brio was previewed as a concept car at the Thailand Motor Show while the fundamental design concept was shown at the Auto Expo in New Delhi last year.
The Brio employs a 1.2-liter i-VTEC engine borrowed from the Honda Jazz, which generates 90 horsepower and an average fuel consumption of 5 liters/100 km while complying to the Euro 4 emission standards. The engine is mated either to a manual five-speed gearbox or a CVT transmission.
Safety conscious Thailand gets two front airbags, disc brakes, ABS and EBD (Electronic Brake Distribution) as part of the standard kit.
Honda will sell the Brio in India at a starting price of under 5 lakh rupees.
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At the outset, Team IAB would extend our heartfelt condolences to all our friends and their families in Japan and wish them a speedy recovery. God has shown his horrific side to Japan. The devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan last week has crippled its entire economy. Nature has made its point and the Indian Auto market has also felt the tremors of this disaster. Brio Delayed The much [ Read More ]
Honda India has revealed that the VW-Suzuki partnership is a threat for the company as it pressurizes them to launch competitively priced cars while maintaining its brand value. Honda says that many such alliances are not good for them as these companies have cost advantages when it comes to R & D, sharing platforms, etc.
Honda Motor India president and CEO, Takashi Nagai to Go Auto-
This (VW-Suzuki partnership) is very worrying for us
In Europe the Toyota/Peugeot/Citroen trio have successfully managed the Aygo/107/C1 triplets. Likewise the Nissan/Renault/Samsung/Dacia products have been successfully sold alongside each other in many markets. In North America too the Honda Accord has to battle it out with the Korean siblings – Hyundai i45 & Kia Magentis/Optima. Even the Hyundai ix35 & Kia SL Sportage are a threat to the CR-V.
But the biggest threat has to be VW-Suzuki says Honda. In the ASEAN Region, Suzuki has a monopoly in the small car market especially in India thanks to its skill to manufacture low cost products. This skill coupled with VW’s German engineering, quality & safety could be a nightmare for companies like Honda and even Hyundai.
But at the end Honda says that it is a smart manufacturer because it has learnt how to launch well priced products while maintaining their brand value. Honda has high hopes with its new small car which it showcased at the 2010 Delhi Auto Expo. Honda hopes that it will be able to garner a good market share in the Asia-Pacific region with this new baby Honda.
It also says that will continue to further strengthen the Honda brand instead of making alliances or thinking of alternative brands.
Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India has sold 21 high performance imported bikes in India. The superbikes are priced from 9.5 lakh rupees and within three months of their arrival, they have registered these deliveries.
Buoyed by the success, the company eyes selling 100 such bikes in the current fiscal, mainly in the metros.
HMSI head of sales Y S Guleria -
We have been able to sell 21 of our super speed bikes within three months of their launch into the country. We have seen the potential of these bikes in big cities like Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi and Pune and we aim to sell 100 units of these bikes in this fiscal
HMSI introduced the Honda CBR1000RR and CB1000R in India as a direct import from Japan at a price of Rs 12.5 lakh and Rs 9.5 lakh respectively.
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The Honda Jazz steals our spotlight since it goes on sale next month in India. Reports pertaining to the Jazz’s cost have severed buying hopes fueled controversy, and yet again we are posting a figure, which isn’t its price tag.
In the international arena, the Honda Jazz hasn’t put a foot wrong. 500,000 cars have been sold in Europe alone since the arrival back in 2002. The supermini has 335 liters of boot space that is comparable to sedans of the same price range, and offers interior room that is comparable to cars on the bigger side in India.
A major slice of its success is attributed to its space and comfort. The Honda Jazz is credited with B-segment size, value and frugality combined with C-segment passenger space and boot capacity. In the recent crash test evaluation, the Jazz scored the maximum five stars, which signified its crashworthiness.
It is a ballsy daring move by Honda to drive a hatchback into the Indian market and price it above all the existing hatches including its classmates. The Jazz mounts on the new City‘s platform and a tailor-made 1.2-liter petrol engine for Indian customers sits under the bonnet.
The Tata Indica’s success is often traced back to its unbeatable comfort/space combination. But another factor that helped the Indica take off was its price advantage, which operates against the Jazz.
What do ya think?
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ET reports Honda’ new small car for India would be positioned at a price point below the Jazz, in the scope of the Hyundai i20, Tata Indica Vista and Chevrolet Aveo U-VA. If you have been tuning into IAB regularly, you should have read about it a long time back.
Honda was incapable of bringing down the price of the Jazz which it hopes to launch next month, any further and could have reached this decision.
The new Honda small car will have an intense level of localization. Honda engineers will work closely with suppliers in bringing the cost down. A team of 25 headed by a Japanese official will begin work on everything from manufacturing to purchase. Honda might use its Rajasthan facility which is currently work in progress to produce upto 250,000 units per annum when fully functional.
Following General Motors, Honda is also planning to raise prices of its models and maintain slower production for the next six months, even as it keeps its plans for its small and much awaited Jazz, unchanged.
Entry posted on February 7, 2009 by
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As we reported earlier, the New 3rd Generation Honda City was recently launched in Pakistan. Following the trend of overseas launches, the Australian Auto-market is the latest recipient of the new Honda City.
The latest model of Honda City offers all new levels of styling, performance, driving dynamics and ride quality combined with outstanding packaging, functionality and versatality.
