The day has finally dawned upon us. Honda has been dethroned from its last dominant segment. No longer is Honda-Siel a leader in any segment of the Indian car market.
It all started with 3 major products from Honda dominating the 3 respective segments. The Honda City was the king of the C+ Sedan Segment. The Honda Civic ruled the D Segment and the Honda Accord dominated in a segment above.
But slowly and steadily the competition crept up and Honda started losing pole position in all segment. The Toyota Corolla and Chevy Cruze dethroned the Civic. The Superb overtook the Accord. And finally, in the month of March 2011, the VW Vento has managed to outsell the segment leader – the Honda City by a margin of over 1,000 units. And Honda City isn’t even the the 2nd best selling sedan in that segment because the SX4 takes that title for the month of March.
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Pushed to the back foot after the Jazz failed to pick itself up, Honda is in a tight spot. There has been a sunroof here and a variant there but no real launches since the Jazz bowed in back in mid 2009. The new Civic is behind schedule, the Brio is also taking its time. Honda’s been hit hard in every segment and diesel’s absence is one of the reasons. [ Read More ]
Honda City – Deserve a diesel heart
Some good news for Indians who have been waiting for a diesel car from Honda. The company is conducting studies to develop a diesel engine for Indian market. Let us be more specific and set the expectation straight. The development is at initial stages and at best indicative. Honda wants to flourish in emerging markets and realizes that a small diesel engine is required to sell more cars.
No time lines are available on the launch and specifications of the engine. We are very much awaiting the diesel City or even a diesel Jazz. The diesel option on these cars could be a very attractive package and provided the pricing is sensible, these cars could be game changers for Honda.
The SYM Cevalo 125cc bike could be Mahindra’s surprise exhibit at Auto Expo 2010
Stories on many blogs indicate Mahindra 2 wheelers will display the 125cc SYM Cevalo at the upcoming Auto Expo. The Cevalo will join the Rodeo, Duro and Flyte next year. With a 125cc 4 valve air-cooled engine, the Cevalo’s 15bhp power comes thanks to fuel injection technology.
Toyota will show not one, two, three or..err..ok, they’re going to bring 13 cars to the Auto Expo next year. 13! I hope they launch at least 2 of those in India next one year. Wait, they have already said the small car (EFC) and its sedan avatar will ply Indian roads by 2011. So our desire has already been fulfilled, then.
Which car does Suzuki sell in 69 countries? Which car recently touched the 100,000 mark in cumulative sales exports? Which car despite having “Star” in its name, needs discounts and offers to sell in India? Shame that countries other than India find the A-Star a fuel sipper and nippy city hatch.
The Tata Nano adds another trophy to its cabinet by booking a berth in the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum in New York next year from February 18 to April 25. The Nano will be showcased for its innovative design and advanced technology.
Due to fluctuations in exchange rate, Honda will increase prices of its models by about one percent in January next year. Honda sells the City, Civic, CR-V, Accord, Jazz and Civic hybrid in India.
Entry posted on June 4, 2009 by
Dave;
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Honda
We always knew that an all-new Honda small car was in the works. We thought that the new car would be boxy like the 600cc Honda Zest sold in Japan.
Now, it appears that Honda is working on a super compact car for the US market also. A car that would compete with the Smart and Toyota iQ/Scion.
So we ask ‘Will the new small car that is to come to India, look similar to this?’ Well, it has every chance to be!
We do not have much information about the engine specs and the seating configurations (2-door 2 seater/ 2 door 4-seater/ 4-door 4 seater)
But we know that, the new Honda small car will have an intense level of localization which will help bring the cost down.
Honda could use its Rajasthan facility which is currently work in progress to produce upto 250,000 units per annum when fully functional.
Eying a big potential for luxury bikes in India, where tastes are changing from mass-market machines to high-end bikes, Honda and Bajaj are looking at launching new sportsbikes in the country in the next couple of months.
There had been a sudden surge in the number of International Sportsbikes brands entering the Indian market, over the past two years. Initially the trend was set by Kinetic with the launch of the 250cc, v-twin-powered Hyosung Comet in India back in 2005. Then it was Yamaha, which launched the Yamaha R1 in India and the MT-01 cruiser in 2007. Soon later followed by the Italian motorcycle giant Ducati, who launched an array of superbikes costing up to almost 50 lakhs, and finally Suzuki joined the troop in late-2008, with its Hayabusa superbike and the Intruder cruiser.
