Honda scripting India comeback with Brio

Honda which has somersaulted from top to bottom in Indian car market plans series of launches to make a comeback. The launches planned includes brio and a powerful variant of Jazz hatchback. Honda was considered as one of the top automaker in india and its brand is considered premium. However things started changing since the launch of Jazz.

* Honda screwed up the fortunes of CR-V (by refusing to make it a CKD unit),

* Jazz bombed at the market owing to the premium price tag,

* Vento sneaked the might city territory with volkswagen brand
* The absence of diesel option in civic and accord has made competitor like skoda  to dominate without hassle.

Looking deeply into matter, Honda has done major mistake except for failing to take stock of changing reality. Earlier, Honda and Toyota are only premium brands available for the customer. With manufacturers like Volkswagen and Nissan entered the market, they brought the world class vehicles at indian price. Volkswagen which is known for quality managed to bring the Honda class quality cars at lesser price. It also has world class diesel engine which honda lacked. Honda has missed the changing scene. Polo or i20 is considered a better buy than jazz anytime. While Honda holded its grip in the city segment,  change is already evident. Tsunami and earthquake could be another jolt for Honda and its Indian innings. Shortage of parts may affect the production and give the competitors room to ride the advantage. Few dealers have already switched loyalties to other brands.

But not all are over, before the launch of i10 and i20 few years back, Hyundai seemed to be losing ground. But the phenomenal i-series cars makes Hyundai to scale new heights. If honda could localise parts and produce ancillaries in India, Honda may comeback with a bang. Honda’s brio will bring customers to deserted showrooms and powerful jazz variant may be good idea (if price right).  The writing in the wall is clear! products need to be world class but pricing should be indian. The way forward is to manufacture parts at competitive price where else you can produce at low cost price, its India or China!