[Aaron:)]

http://m.autocarindia.com/Article.as...1839&type=News

Excerpts from ACI's article -

Honda is mulling over the relaunch of the Civic in India to widen its model range. The Japanese carmaker in recent years has concentrated more on mass market models below its mainstay, the City sedan, but now feels the need to focus a bit more on the premium end of the market which has been left vacant after the Civic and Accord were discontinued.

Yoichiro Ueno, president and CEO, Honda Cars India Ltd said, “For a while, the current City can accommodate customers who own the previous models.” However, he did further allude that in time, especially when current City customers would be ripe for an upgrade “the Civic is one model” that Honda is looking at introducing in India.

Fantastic news IMO. The Civic can be very successful in India, and it has a ready market, i.e. people who find the Corolla too boring, but are scared of the German's maintenance issues. I hope they bring it here latest by mid 2017.
The report also states that the Accord Hybrid is coming in September this year. Finally some good news from Honda!

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Most important question on my mind is regarding the diesel engine they plan to use. Hope they don't play it safe like Toyota and stick to the 1.5 diesel itself.

Tenth generation model has been receiving good reviews worldwide, as opposed to the 9th gen which was disappointing. Waiting for the brand to come back to India once again and hope the quality is right up there with Toyota and Hyundai rivals.

[johannskaria]

The discussion behind the article!

Autocar Dialogues | 2020 & Beyond

[IshaanIan]

I for one find the modern Honda products a bit too ugly. The Civic we had in India was a beauty with all the right proportions wish there were some way to re-launch it at a starting price of just above the current top-end City. Of course that is probably not possible.

[The Brutailer]

You could've posted photos as well to supplement the news. Civic is a great car. Would stir up the segment very well. After all, Honda still has a premium brand name in Indian mindset.

[khoj]

Nowhere in the entire episode did I hear the Honda manager say or hint anything about the Civic coming back to our shores.

Either I missed it or the thread title is misleading.

[landcruiser123]

I guess Honda seen a revival in the D-Segment, where the corolla goes unchallenged (by other sedans) and Skoda is suffering due to it's supply constraints and dealer attitudes. Additionally, the Indian market is shifting towards petrols.

It's surely the best time to bring the Civic back to India.

Honda's 'premium' image has been tarnished ever since they went chasing volumes. I'm sure the civic can restore the 'premium' feel associated with older Hondas. Except Hyundai, I think every other manufacturer believes that Small means Cheap.

[Aaron:)]

Originally Posted by khoj

Nowhere in the entire episode did I hear the Honda manager say or hint anything about the Civic coming back to our shores.

Either I missed it or the thread title is misleading.

The video is not related to the thread topic i.e. the Civic.

The big question is, will it get a diesel? The 1.5 i-DTEC, while fine in the Amaze and City, will not cut it in the Civic. They should get the 1.6 i-DTEC that's sold internationally.

IMO, if they can't bring it with a diesel, they should seriously consider launching a hybrid version. The previous Civic hybrid launched in India was a non starter thanks to its price tag which was dangerously close to the Accord.
The Camry has shown that a decently priced hybrid (difference between petrol and hybrid Camry is 2-3 lakhs) can compete with a diesel and still bring in numbers. The Camry outsells the diesel Superb.

[OSH]

I feel that the best time to launch the new Civic would be before the facelifted City arrives. There are surely going to be various common features between the two cars, so if the City comes out first, most of the customers will rather buy the fully loaded top-end facelifted City rather than wait for the more expensive Civic with similar features.

Also if I'm not wrong the current gen City already has some features which the last gen Civic (2013) did not have, due to which Honda discontinued the model.

I seriously hope that the new Civic gets additional features over the facelifted City or else Honda would find themselves in the same situation as before. I am in the market for an upgrade from my 2012 City but will now be waiting for the Civic. I wish they publish a tentative date of launch or else I will have to go ahead with the facelifted City due in 2017.

[GTO]

Not going to be easy and Honda has its own strategies to blame. After Honda discontinued the Civic, they launched the 4th-gen (current) City to fill the space between the 3rd-gen City & discontinued Civic. Effectively, the City moved up a slot.

Now, if you see the current prices, the Corolla starts off not too far from where the City ends. In Mumbai, the top-end City Diesel costs 12.99 lakhs, while the Corolla Diesel starts at 14.74. Similarly, the top-end City petrol costs 11.70 lakhs where the Corolla starts at 13.62. Even if you look at top variants of both, the difference between the City & Corolla diesels is merely 3 lakhs.

Will Honda price it as competitively as the Corolla? If it does, that's good (despite the overlap, though Honda won't agree with me). If Honda prices it higher than the Corolla, it's not going anywhere.

A predicament indeed.

Honda should also do something different and bring the Civic Hybrid here in CKD form. That'll give it a solid differentiator at a reasonable premium.

[Viju]

A few pictures to add life to this thread.
Source: http://www.caricos.com/

I really hope Honda does not botch up the pricing and feature-list on this one. Looking at the North American version in the pictures, I can already count the list of features Honda would be depriving us of.

And let us hope that the person who headed the pricing strategy meeting for the Accord in India is kept out of the meeting room this time!

All said and done, the design looks nowhere near as clean, elegant and timeless as the old Civic. Sigh!

[Aaron:)]

Originally Posted by GTO

Will Honda price it as competitively as the Corolla? If it does, that's good (despite the overlap, though Honda won't agree with me). If Honda prices it higher than the Corolla, it's not going anywhere.

As far as I remember, the Civic (in India) was always priced at par with the Corolla, and below cars like the Jetta and Laura. IMO they shouldn't worry too much about product overlap as long as the customer stays inside the showroom.

Also, adding a few photos of the ASEAN spec Civic. Looks stunning. And the interiors are a sight for sore eyes after seeing their recent launches.

Source : http://indianautosblog.com/2016/03/2016-honda-civic-asean-spec-2016-bangkok-225587

[Lalvaz]

The Civic was a great car, loved the digital speedometer on it. The proportions were just right and it exuded a feeling of class yet was affordable. The only negative was the low GC, but that was more a problem with the Indian road conditions.

I do hope that they relaunch the Civic in India and price it well. I for one do not think Honda has been particularly successful in targeting the mass market. Amaze and Mobilio have not done particularly well. Perhaps the focus needs to be recentered around the premium segment for Honda. Their City & Civics don't really have too much competition in their segments. Toyota Altis is really the key competitor if someone wants a reliable Jap vehicle in that segment.

[IshaanIan]

Originally Posted by Lalvaz

The Civic was a great car, loved the digital speedometer on it. The proportions were just right and it exuded a feeling of class yet was affordable. The only negative was the low GC, but that was more a problem with the Indian road conditions.

Actually it has more to do with the sagging on the rear suspension. The dampers were too soft. Infact my Kizashi comes with the same ground clearance yet I've never faced issues like I would have in a Civic. That said I'm glad the Civic came that low, any higher and it would have looked odd.

Originally Posted by Lalvaz

I do hope that they relaunch the Civic in India and price it well. I for one do not think Honda has been particularly successful in targeting the mass market. Amaze and Mobilio have not done particularly well. Perhaps the focus needs to be recentered around the premium segment for Honda. Their City & Civics don't really have too much competition in their segments. Toyota Altis is really the key competitor if someone wants a reliable Jap vehicle in that segment.

Agree 100%. Honda needs to focus on building their premium image back. However I fear that with designs such as this where the interiors mimic Amaze/BR-V/Jazz/City and not the CR-V or Accord, they may have lost the plot entirely.

[sgiitk]

I am not too happy with a blown engine, I prefer the NA stuff. In fact I will love to see a 1500-1800cc engine with six (or at least five) cylinders.

Also as for the heavy nose, it part of the macho effect pioneered by the Americans. Like sheep to slaughter all seem to be giving in.