Honda to raise car prices, and Jazz launch soon. EDIT : Jazz spotted testing on pg.14

[chevelle]

And Skoda has always been a premium brand than Honda in India. Honda is not a premium brand in any part of the world.

skoda has only premium image in India which it shares with Honda. Other than that in no other part of world it is considered a premium brand.

in uk, it is called a 'poor man's rich little car' and in usa, it has no presence.

[SkyWalker]

agree with chevelle - Skoda's premium positioning is nothing but an illusion here.

[vcash]

[quote=diabloo;1208463]Comparing US prices with India's ? I can only .
I think you need to compare other manufactures also.

quote]

Maruti Suzuki SX4: 7.5L ex-showroom
Suzuki SX4: $14K i.e. 7.25L (Including destination but excluding tax and title)

[srishiva]

If people pay their own money on their own, how is it called robbery?

[amit]

Originally Posted by diabloo

Comparing US prices with India's ? I can only .

Why? when someone compared UK prices with India you agreed with them saying prices are similar in India and hence there is no ripping off of Indian customers. But when US prices showed something different, you want to laugh. Convinience isnt it? As for you not getting the 'ripping off Indian customers bit', don't worry. Everyone on this forum knew you wouldn't get it.

In any case, India is a different country and has it's own pecularities. We should not compare prices with UK, US or Timbaktoo. We have our own set of problems and economic issues. What you guys also forget is that Honda's are heavy on insurance in US so the cheaper price advantage is off-set. By the way, Top gear or Fifth gear said Honda's in UK are the favorite of old people. Kind of like how Buick is called old man's car in US. I better duck for cover.

Also, some one said Skoda is premium in India and no where else. Well, so is Honda. And Toyota.

[chevelle]

Originally Posted by amit

Also, some one said Skoda is premium in India and no where else. Well, so is Honda. And Toyota.

that was me who quoted that, that was in a reply to someone who said honda is not a premium brand.

i agreed to that if you read it carefully, but i also wanted to point out skoda is also the same. actually, if we take usa into picture, it has nil presence in usa. so in that way, atleast honda has a good presence in usa, even though it is in entry level.

also, skoda's parent company vw also is not doing great in usa which is considered at par with toyota and honda. atleast they have lexus and acura in premium league. if vw has any please let me know. would love to know which one.

as far as price comparison is there, in USA, an honda accord cost $20000(approx) while a vw passat cost $26000(approx) excluding destination and other fees, and both are considered midsize car in usa. and honda accord sells more than passat in usa.

no offence to you, but i was just pointing out.

[amit]

Originally Posted by chevelle

also, skoda's parent company vw also is not doing great in usa which is considered at par with toyota and honda.

I agree and know all about it. I used to sell VW's in Canada!

atleast they have lexus and acura in premium league. if vw has any please let me know. would love to know which one.

Audi.

actually, if we take usa into picture, it has nil presence in usa. so in that way, atleast honda has a good presence in usa, even though it is in entry level.

So what if it doesn't have presence in US? Neither does Fiat, Peugeot, Citoren etc. US maybe the world's biggest car market but it's not the be all and end all of it. Though neither of the above listed car makers are present in US they have survived pretty well in the automotive world haven't they? Compare them to GM who had the largest share in the world's biggest car market upto this year (and even now are the second biggest car maker there) and see where they are.

[FlyingSpur]

Originally Posted by amit

I see Honda sales going up and getting stronger. No matter what Honda does, people will lap up their products.

Quite true. Everyone is not a member of this forum. Most are swayed by the exterior design.

Fiesta, Verna and Linea offer diesel engines and every month the City anhilates them on the sales charts.

Because it is the best petrol sedan in the segment, no question. If you can digest its flaws. We find these flaws as we're passionate about cars. Most people wouldn't waste a moment thinking about it.

Add better dealership experience with Toyota and better after sales service. Yet the Civic outsells the Altis.

Take away the Civic's interior and it has nothing. Cash in on the cool factor, Honda totally shines here.

Accord petrol outsells the Laura diesel.

Because Skoda hasn't refreshed the Laura in about three decades. They need to be more proactive, and stop this bull**** of selling old models parallel with new ones (please don't come back to me saying other manufacturers do it as well). Add to that, the Accord's been refreshed recently.

CRV petro outsells Captiva diesel.

Not really. Not always.

They will react by buying the cars in hordes!

Sigh. I agree.

The petrol Jazz will crush diesel i20, Grande Punto MJD and Fabia diesel sales every month. This, after the Jazz will offer far lesser features then all these cars at a higher price.

Because the demand for diesels will always be lower than petrol, even with the price difference per litre. Most people simply don't clock 50+km a day. Where, then, will they look for the best petrol in the segment? Honda. Even if it's overpriced.

[diabloo]

Please read that UK price post again - it was a comparison between the prices among cars sold in UK. It was not a comparison between UK & India prices.

Originally Posted by amit

Why? when someone compared UK prices with India you agreed with them saying prices are similar in India and hence there is no ripping off of Indian customers.

US price post was direct comparison between US & India prices. You need read the post carefully to spot the subtle difference .

But when US prices showed something different, you want to laugh. Convinience isnt it?

If anybody wants to discuss US/UK prices vis a vis India prices, they may do so in this excellent thread started by ajmat: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/collection-best-threads/6953-indians-being-ripped-off.html

[chevelle]

Audi.

oh ya just went out of my mind. thanks for reminding.


So what if it doesn't have presence in US? Neither does Fiat, Peugeot, Citoren etc. US maybe the world's biggest car market but it's not the be all and end all of it. Though neither of the above listed car makers are present in US they have survived pretty well in the automotive world haven't they? Compare them to GM who had the largest share in the world's biggest car market upto this year (and even now are the second biggest car maker there) and see where they are.[/quote]

fiat's alfa romeo has a minuscule presence in USA and fiat is in talks with Chrysler for a re entry into usa market with alfa romeo, wonder how successful it will be. they need better cars to make an entry into usa.
apart from fiat most of the other companies you mentioned are not even present in india where europe influence is there, while it is not so in usa.
i have no idea about how GM is in uk market, so can't comment about that, but us citizens are mad about their detroit cars.

this was again in reply to comparison of usa and uk prices with India. that's all.

i am going . so lets discuss about honda and its prices rather than other companies policy and presence or absence in usa. that can be done in other thread.

[ImmortalZ]

Originally Posted by flyingspur

Take away the Civic's interior and it has nothing. Cash in on the cool factor, Honda totally shines here.

Oi, the brilliant engine is an afterthought I suppose?

[zoom_vroom]

Originally Posted by ImmortalZ

Oi, the brilliant engine is an afterthought I suppose?

Hey ImmortalZ, you again pay close to a lac more for enjoying the brilliance of Civic's engine.Also its the novelty factor of Civic's dashboard that tempted people to buy it. I have seen those people buy Civic who don't know the full form of i-VTEC.
OT: Altis's has low end torque for city while Civic is revv friendly.

Infact the price increase has taken me by surprise.Honda has become over confident with Feb sales and has gone on to increase the prices.I am predicting March and April sales to be flat coz of no pay hikes in most IT companies.
Atleast the price hike could have been justified by Fog lamps/Alloys or even all leather upholstery in Honda City.

Honda Civic - EMT to cost Rs 50 K more, taking it dangerously close to Altis 1.8 G base model which is more loaded in terms of features.

CRV price increase gonna kill it.

Why don't car makers localise parts before launching them in India.
10 years in India, Honda could not localise parts for its cars. i guess by this time new vendors can be raised from scratch.
Vendors like Lumax, Minda etc make world class products.
Maruti i heard launches models with 50-60 % localization.

Procure parts from local vendors, maintain strict quality standards and you still can make a world class product in India.Then it doesn't matter if Rupee is weak or strong, the customer won't feel the pinch of swinging economies.

[diabloo]

I know there are a millions of people who don't know the full form of TCP/IP, yet browse Internet with glee . What a low life they must be leading

Originally Posted by zoom_vroom

I have seen those people buy Civic who don't know the full form of i-VTEC.

[amit]

Originally Posted by flyingspur

Take away the Civic's interior and it has nothing.

Exteriors are nicer then Altis too. The thing is that the Civic looks like a Rs.14 lac rupee car. Altis looks like a Rs.8 lac rupee car. That's the problem. Even Linea looks richer then the Altis. I know looks are subjective but I am sure majority don't go 'OOOH' when they see the Altis while the Civic does get that response.

Please read that UK price post again - it was a comparison between the prices among cars sold in UK. It was not a comparison between UK & India prices.

I was looking at the UK prices for the superminis (which are premium hatches in our context)

1. Skoda Fabia £8,195 - £13,140
2. Hyundai i20 £8,395 - £12,095
3. Suzuki Swift £8,750 - £11,990
4. Honda Jazz £9,780 - £13,362
5. Ford Fusion £11,995 - £15,095

Honda Jazz is sustantially more expensive then the i20 and a shade higher then even Fabia.

So, if they price it between 7.0-8.5 L onroad, it will be keeping in line with their pricing elsewhere and not something new they are adopting specifically for India

The conversion to Indian prices was done. GBP10K for both Fabia and Jazz equals approx Rs.7.5 Lacs.

Because Skoda hasn't refreshed the Laura in about three decades.

Huh?

Because the demand for diesels will always be lower than petrol

In that case, why do diesel Fiesta's , Verna's, Linea's and Octavia's outsell their petrol equivalents?

[madhukar_n]

Originally Posted by diabloo

I know there are a millions of people who don't know the full form of TCP/IP, yet browse Internet with glee . What a low life they must be leading

that was a nice analogy !!!