[MotoNanu]

According to this report published in TOI, Honda is planning/ interested to enter into the A segment.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/b...w/19436707.cms

If this works out, it will really be a great prospect for the Indian buyer in this segment. Honda known for its fantastic packaging and great petrol engine (i-VTEC) is easily capable of creating a new block buster in this segment.

Though this will surely take some time, to bring a engine size less than 1.2?, to reach higher levels of localization and expand its network to Tier 2 and 3 cities.

Looking forward to further developments and hoping Honda is able to pull this off

[ambadan]

Since Honda does not have an engine in 800-1000 cc range, they may have to develop one before entering to A segment. Hence this may take 2-3 years. They will enter only in 2015.

[saket77]

That is some great news. I have always been an admirer of Honda because of the reason they don't compromise too much on safety, quality & performance like many other manufacturers. I am sure, if Honda enters the A-segment, there will be a stir.

Ah, & not to mention that turbine-like smoothness of Honda vehicles. Looking forward to it.

Saket

[t3ofil4us]

Now that is some serious competition for Maruti and Hyundai.

This Move will also improve their service levels to the standards of Maruti & Hyundai.

Hope Honda Pulls of the Great Indian rope Trick--Levitating its way to the average Indian!

[turbospooler]

The major bottleneck along-with the engine is the dealership network.
MSIL & Hyundai are able to sell the large nos as the entry car buyers (generally first time car buyers) need to have peace of mind over their investment. However revolutionising Honda may provide the engine to be, the customers need to be assured they can get assistance anywhere they go.
So to increase the footprint from 150 dealers to over and above 346 of Hyundai will play a key role for the product in that range

[Loud]

Great news! Wishing Honda a great success.
I believe those getting A segment cars are usully learners/ newbies. Thus, they need a car easy to drive in city, with maximum visibility. And, Honda is very particular about visibility (See honda Brio) . Thus, Maruti and Hyundai should beware of Honda.
We all expect honda to bring out high-quality vehicles with utter refinement and feel, but not so AIRY as the Brio!
Anyways, for me, Eon is the best VFM buy in A-segment, offering Best quality interiors with lots of curves here and there (liked by Indian public! No complaints though!).

[babu.sundaram]

Good news!

Hopefully Honda cracks open a whole new segment (like gearless scooters earlier) in the process! For an engine specializing company like Honda, a new engine shouldn't take much time.

A good small, frugal engine with Honda reliability on A1 or A1- for masses? Would be difficult for any to oppose!

[arup.misra]

Its a bit too early to speculate or celebrate. Currently Honda is merely studying the prospect of getting into the volume segment. It neither has the engine nor capacity to out-source or manufacture it locally. A lot would depend on the success of Amaze. That in my opinion would decide the fate of future Honda. In either case don't see anything materialistic until 2015.

[rajshenoy]

Long way to go i feel. Let them first scale up to the demands for Amaze. Dzire sells 20K per month. If we take entire segment that is being targetted by Amaze, it is 30K per month. And all those people are going to rush to honda show rooms soon, and they only have capacity of 4-5K per month ?

Maruti may not have engines, but their production capability is 10 times more than that of Honda, plus dealership network and service centers too are far more compared to that of Honda

Even hyundai is still unable to match up to Maruti, Honda has long way to go here.

[zenren]

Given the slightly premium pricing that Honda carries, it would be difficult to enter into A segment. They might be able to put a competitor to the B segment and challenge the Wagon R, but A segment is barebones- something that Honda is not so familiar with.

Originally Posted by rajshenoy

And all those people are going to rush to honda show rooms soon, and they only have capacity of 4-5K per month ?

True. Again, 4-5k is assuming the current numbers for City and Brio takes a hit - either due to customers for these models opting for Amaze or the company limiting the production capacity of these in favor of Amaze. I wouldn't be surprised if Honda decides to limit Brio and City to around 2-2.5k each per month and use up the remaining 5-6k capacity for Amaze. That is the minimum they should do to ensure Amaze is highly visible on the road after the hype that is created around it. The success of a model is perceived by the general public based on the frequency at which they see the model on the road. They are not usually bothered about factors like waiting period, limited capacity and so on that prevent the company from churning out numbers in spite of huge demand.

[oxyzen]

I think that will not be good Idea. In india, Honda brand is associated with a bit more image. Going into the segment of Alto/Eon will probably mar its reputation.

Then they dont have the service centre spread and number to cope with the number of cars.

What they should do instead, is to focus on the upgrade of Brio. Get a much better interior and and plonk the 1.5L diesel engine.

[pyrodrive]

Honda moving down from civic/jazz class and going into the rat race of the A segment?This is news!
Brio is a good car,a good facelift would probably make more sense than introducing a barebones cheap car.Also,do they have the facilities to play the volume game?

[rohit_dce]

Originally Posted by pyrodrive

Honda moving down from civic/jazz class and going into the rat race of the A segment?This is news!
Brio is a good car,a good facelift would probably make more sense than introducing a barebones cheap car.Also,do they have the facilities to play the volume game?

The company has announced plans to double the production capacity of its plant from 1,20,000 to 2,40,000 units an annum. So yes the facilities are there. And the fact that budget customers needed to be treated well prompts this move on part of Honda as Honda cars are known for their refinement and quality levels, two things we miss in the budget cars these days.

[rock75]

Bad news for Maruti and Hyundai! Honda surely can make a 3 cylinder version of their 1.2 litre engine fast. Considering that Brio starts from around Rs 4 lacs , it won't be difficult to make a decent entry level car at around Rs 3 lacs.

From a strategic point of view ,it would be good to have a presence in the entry level segment as well, one where they have been missing all along. But all these needs to be done in phases. The existing capacity is just inadequate to handle those increased volumes and it will result in a disaster, like when brio was launched but not available in required numbers due to non availability of parts. I reckon that is the reason Brio has been slow to grow, otherwise it is great value for money.

[drmohitg]

I think Honda should first consolidate its position in the B and C segment and beyond. The entry level Hatch segment is a volumes market and given the current production capacity of Honda, it would not be a great idea to jump into it. Also the profit per car is way less in the entry level segments. They should first ensure the availability of a diesel heart for each of there current offerings and recapture the lost market share rather than launching new cars.