[kadanaJ]

The Elevate may save Honda India from having to pack up it's bags and leave India, but it doesn't seem to be able to take the fight to the segment leaders.

As per an above post, the Elevate did 5,685 units. Don't know if this is because of production constraint, but I hope it is. Generally most cars do their best when newly launched, and then face a slow decline in sales.

On an average the competition does the following numbers per month:

• Hyundai Creta: 14k units
• Kia Seltos: fluctuating between 6-10k
• Mahindra XUV300: 5k units
• Mahindra XUV700: 5-6k units
• Maruti Grand Vitara: 10k units
• Toyota Hyryder: 3-4k units (believe it is production constraint, as there is long waiting apparently)
• Skoda Kushaq and VW Taigun: Close to 2k units each

With respect to the competition, I think they need to target at least a steady 8-10k units from the Elevate.

[Himanshu809]

Going a bit off topic here but Honda Cars is at it’s worst in the Indian car market as of now. Only three products out of which only one is competent in its segment. To think this is the company which provides the engine Verstappen is winning on. Disgrace. Absolute disaster product range and business strategy. Kindergarten kids can run the company better. Heck take any 6 average Bhpians and they can do it better. Honda India’s senior executives are certainly one of the most overpaid execs in the country at the moment. What do they even do for work? Count how many features with they want to be BEHIND the competition?

[volkman10]

Honda Cars India plant to commence EV retooling in 2024.

All future cars will be of SUV body style only.

The Japanese carmaker confirms additional investment is imminent as it readies its first EV for India.

The brand's first EV for India will be an SUV based on the Honda Elevate, and thus it too will have Tapukara as its global production hub. The as-yet-unnamed electric SUV is currently in development and is expected to go on sale in 2025.

Link

Link1

[fordfreak]

Originally Posted by volkman10

Honda Cars India plant to commence EV retooling in 2024.

Are we meant to read this as "models like the City & Amaze are living on borrowed time"? Will be sad to see an iconic name like the City getting killed off, if it comes to be so. And also another nail in the coffin for sedans.

[UD17]

Originally Posted by fordfreak

Are we meant to read this as "models like the City & Amaze are living on borrowed time"? Will be sad to see an iconic name like the City getting killed off, if it comes to be so. And also another nail in the coffin for sedans.

Amaze facelift is coming next year. So i think the facelift version of current sedan would continue and new cars would go SUV (like the amaze based SUV is planned for 2024)

[ron178]

Originally Posted by fordfreak

Are we meant to read this as "models like the City & Amaze are living on borrowed time"? Will be sad to see an iconic name like the City getting killed off, if it comes to be so. And also another nail in the coffin for sedans.

Optimistically speaking, it should mean that any new nameplate that is introduced will be an SUV.

Or it could mean that the City and Amaze will be facelifted repeatedly until the end of the decade.

The City is a competent car for its segment and like its predecessor I can foresee an 8+ year run with some facelifts here and there. I do not feel the same way about the Amaze, but seeing what they have done with other cars based on it like the BR-V and WR-V, a facelift that is comprehensive enough to make the cut looks possible.

[ergon_9700]

This is expected. Will they localise their hybrid powertrain or are they going the CBU/CKD routes for Hybrids? Also any idea when they will bring their turbo engines here in India or will they continue with NA engines (Nothing against them but I heard their turbo petrol are good)? Their current portfolio deserves it especially the Elevate.

[Livnletcarsliv]

Good to know that (still not confident though), Honda is still considering India as a market and committing to it at least on paper. However, with the model line-up, there is nothing exciting as such. At least, I am sure enough that if Honda thinks NOW about what to sell in 2025/26, the competition will be miles ahead and in fact, nullify the expected results/outcome of Honda's product strategy/business road-map by then for India.

[ellip5i5]

I would want to see the WRV with the 1.2 and a turbo version giving serious competition to Brezza, Venue. Hope this is prioritised over the Amaze.

[mk600]

Originally Posted by volkman10

Honda Cars India plant to commence EV retooling in 2024.

On the other hand, Honda (and others) seem to be getting more realistic expectations on affordable EVs in USA specifically. From the same article:
"Many car companies have responded to market pressures by adjusting EV production and others continue to reduce costs to lure more customers. Industry leader Tesla has repeatedly slashed prices across its model line this year in an effort to shift its inventory and get more EVs on the roads."

Also at TBHP:
Q3 2023: EV sales declined for the first time by 10%! (Indian Car Sales Analysis | H1 2023 (Jan-Jun))


Wonder if Honda is late to EV party, just as they were to the Diesel party last decade.

[UD17]

Originally Posted by ergon_9700

Will they localise their hybrid powertrain or are they going the CBU/CKD routes for Hybrids?

Will they localize their hybrid powertrain or are they going the CBU/CKD routes for Hybrids? - SHORT answer is NO localization for such small volumes.

Also any idea when they will bring their turbo engines here in India or will they continue with NA engines - I heard that Turbo is being planned during MY2026 and NA will continue beyond 2030 as a bread winner

[ergon_9700]

Originally Posted by UD17

Will they localize their hybrid powertrain or are they going the CBU/CKD routes for Hybrids? - SHORT answer is NO localization for such small volumes.

Also any idea when they will bring their turbo engines here in India or will they continue with NA engines - I heard that Turbo is being planned during MY2026 and NA will continue beyond 2030 as a bread winner

For the low volume hybrid powertrain, it makes sense to keep it as a CKD/CBU.

For the turbo engines, isn't two years too long? I mean their engines are running well in other markets and have clocked a lot of miles/kilometers (region dependant). Does homologation of engines for India take that long?

[W.A.G.7]

Originally Posted by W.A.G.7

The point I am trying to make here is that - Honda has a very lacklustre attitude towards their customers. It's like "Take it, or leave it".

So, I am quoting myself from the Honda Bigwing thread here. Yesterday on a whim, my father wanted to check out the Elevate, City and the Virtus. Although, the context of that thread and this thread may be different, what is the same is the lacklustre attitude. We went to Garve Honda at the Wakdewadi showroom, and the overall response was pathetic. We just gave our number at the reception and they assigned a trainee person as the salesman. Not that there is anything wrong with assigning a trainee person. But this guy was on the mobile for the whole time. He was least interested in selling the Honda City. It was only after we asked him questions, he looked up and kept answering. After that, it was back to "Me and my mobile". He was also completely misinformed about the variants, was clueless about the pricing and did not even have the courtesy to stop using the mobile phone while talking.

This experience reiterated what I had experienced at Pashankar Auto. It is this "take it or leave it" attitude that is running Honda into the ground. Nothing else. In spite of being down in the dumps, they keep the same lackadaisical for prospective customers, the same engine from maybe what - 15 years ago(?) and then we have threads running into multiple pages long with members putting their views on what's going wrong with Honda.

As compared to Honda, the experience at B.U Bhandari Volkswagen showroom was a complete 180-degree U-Turn. They assigned a person, explained everything in detail and arranged for a test drive - all within 45 minutes. I would give Volkswagen full marks for training their sales folks on how to interact with customers. And oh yes, did I mention that Volkswagen gave us the mouth-burning coffee from my Altroz thread? They did, and in the excitement of the Virtus promptly burnt our soft palates in an instant!!

Anyways - without deviating from the main topic, I would say that Honda is shooting itself in the foot. No two ways about it.

[saket77]

Received a communication from a local Honda dealer that there is an expected price hike of around 30K on Honda cars from 01st April 2024. Is there any verified news on the matter with anyone? All I could find in news was a price hike in Jan-2024.

Thanks.