HSCI (Honda Siel Cars India), the Japanese auto makers that had been quite content with their mid segment domination of City sedan along with other SUVs and sedans are now looking into small car segment in hopes of some aggressive growth.
Business Standard reported that even though Honda did have Jazz hatchback in its armoury, the high prices were a constraint, and by reducing the pricing by 1.6 lakhs, they are keeping the momentum of sales up. With good sales in the Jazz hatchbacks and the upcoming launch of Brio any time soon, HSCI (Honda Siel Cars India), are planning to up the production at their Greater Noida unit to around 1 lakh cars yearly claiming to have reached a milestone by doing so. Reports also speculate that HSCI (Honda Siel Cars India) are planning to up the output to around 1.2 lakh cars yearly having the option of using their second facility at Tapukara in Rajasthan in the coming two years.
Jnaneswar Sen, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales of HSCI (Honda Siel Cars India) said that they expected to increase yearly production to one lakh cars by November and December of this year and that they could stretch a further 20% through efficient production. He also said that it would take 3 months more for supply of components from Japan and things would get normalized by then.
The report also mentions Sen further told that HSCI (Honda Siel Cars India) were also planning to produce Brio compact in a large scale and are preparing for its launch next month. Supply of components was hampered due to the recent quakes in Japan that hindered their production, but things were stabilizing now. There has been a lot of demand for Honda Jazz which has risen to 10 folds now, but components were not reaching them on time. They were limited to only producing 500 cars per month now, so until they did expand production, they are expecting a wait period for Jazz. They do expect to sell around 1000 cars next year. The report also stated that one of the factors affecting HSCI’s sales was due to non-availability of diesel models. The demand for diesel cars are up due to hike in interest rates and petrol costs making buyers go for diesel cars and eventually petrol cars taking a slump for some time now. The prices of diesel cars being little cheaper has also affected them. Car makers such as Maruti Suzuki, Volkswagen and GM (General Motors) have reacted sharply by introducing newer diesel variants and taken away Honda Siel’s market shares across the sector.
Honda Siel has ditched the class buyers ,who really give birth to new launches like Honda Jazz at premium price even after knowing that the price is high but they compromised with it because of the technological belief in Honda ,as far as the rate been dropped to so low from 7.24lac to 6.06 & 5.67 lacs. If at all this was to be done. the classic buyers should have been given some advantages of say envoice reversal of close to 1 to 1.5 lacs. I am the the buyer of it but now i am feeling frustrated that within two years the price should never go so low , for which it was stated many times that it was overrated.
See Indian buyers are very high on Emotional Quotient. If at all HONDA wanted to do this & really wanted to grab the market by reducing prices so they will have to rethink for …how to compensate the primitive buyers , when the product launched two years back. HONDA cannot be so unjustified. Hopeful to see for real compensation. I assure the compensation principle will really take back honda culture on roads. Come on Honda cars..be realistic..& d some thing Concrete for us ,wholanuched your product by paying premium price two yeas back. Car it self is a depreciating product…you just imagine how come a normal ride lover can bear this shock of double loss enhanced by such a price cut close to 1.5 lacs.