[JayPrashanth]

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Waiting periods for Honda Cars India's Amaze compact sedan could reduce in the coming months. The Japanese car maker will add a third shift to the production line at its Greater Noida factory from November 2013. On an average, Honda is selling 5,500 units of the Amaze each month while the order backlog stands at 20,000 units.



The impending festive season could further inflate the order book and push up waiting periods. At present, Honda produces 440 cars each day, through 2 shifts at its Greater Noida factory. The third shift is expected to be shorter than the first two shifts. For now, Honda has not revealed the exact numbers by which it plans to boost numbers of the Amaze sedan.

The third shift is expected to cut waiting times for the Brio-platform based Amaze compact sedan by 2 months. Currently, certain variants of the Honda Amaze command waiting periods of 4-5 months, which will be cut to 2-3 months once the new shift is added.



Turbo diesel engined variants on offer and a high degree of localization leading to competitive pricing, have been two important factors contributing to this car's success in India. A comeback model for Honda, the Amaze has gone on to become a best seller for the Japanese car brand. The car is available with petrol and turbo diesel engine options.

Digging into its parts bin, Honda has outfitted the petrol powered Brio with the 1.2 liter i-VTEC motor while the diesel engine is an all new affair in the form of the 1.5 liter i-DTEC turbo diesel unit. The 1.5 liter i-DTEC "EarthDreams" diesel engine is a derivative of the 1.6 liter i-DTEC that Honda uses in the Euro-spec Civic and CR-V models.



The light weight diesel engine is an all-aluminium affair. A 5 speed manual gearbox is standard on the Amaze and a 5 speed automatic gearbox is offered on select variants of the petrol engined model. The Amaze competes head on with the Maruti Suzuki Dzire, India's best selling sedan.

The Honda Amaze has been one of the bright spots in the Indian car market for 2013, even as car sales in India continue to be very subdued. The Amaze is the second car to be spawned out of the Brio platform. Next year, Honda is expected to launch an MPV based on the Brio platform in India.



The Maruti Ertiga rivaling MPV will be the third car under the Brio platform for India, after the hatchback and sedan models. The Brio-based MPV is expected to share its engine and transmission line up with the Amaze. High local content is likely. Primed for a launch in Indonesia first, the car will be officially unveiled at this year's Indonesian International Motor Show.

Source TheHinduBusinessLine

[hellmet]

Honda must be happy they finally have a car that has a wait list to boast of!

However, Honda need not worry about wait lists. The way our economy is headed, soon there'll be no waiting period to talk about.

[anky]

I got my top end diesel vmt in 25 days flat . Exactly as the sales lady had promised . No compromise on color too . I am from Mumbai .

[vikramvicky1984]

Originally Posted by anky

I got my top end diesel vmt in 25 days flat . Exactly as the sales lady had promised . No compromise on color too . I am from Mumbai .

Which dealer?
I called today and was told 24 weeks for the petrol Amaze

[anky]

Arya Honda Ballard pier. . Mumbai .

[mayankjha1806]

This is good news for prospective Amaze buyers, one of my colleague was looking for Amaze (Petrol) and asked for my advise. As it was petrol i was sure the waiting periods will not be long, maybe a few weeks at the most. Later i was shocked to hear even the petrols command similar waiting time.

Looks like the insider story is that its not the demand of petrol being higher which is leading to waiting list, but the numbers manufactured of petrol being lower.

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

This is good news for prospective Amaze buyers, one of my colleague was looking for Amaze (Petrol) and asked for my advise. As it was petrol i was sure the waiting periods will not be long, maybe a few weeks at the most. Later i was shocked to hear even the petrols command similar waiting time.

Looks like the insider story is that its not the demand of petrol being higher which is leading to waiting list, but the numbers manufactured of petrol being lower.

Yep, definitely production constraints. They're unable to keep up with demand, and diesel gets manufacturing priority due to higher margins.

One of my friends booked a Petrol MT (EX variant I believe), and is looking at a mid-October delivery.

[AUTO_CRAZY]

I think in next 2 to 3 months the waiting period will come down considerably. There is a mad rush for diesel vehicles. So there is a long waiting period for petrol variants. I think this Is the situation with almost all the manufacturers. Because of the crisis I think it is better to make what sells than keeping dead inventory. Also companies can make only those which gives a better margin. But we need to see the situation after 3months, weather even after that Honda will have the same demand or not . By end of this year we will come to know the true demand for this car . But make hay when sun shines .......

[aniketi]

Honda, you better wait some more time. Economy is going towards south only. No recovery any time soon. I don't expect market to pick up till early next year at least. All cars are facing issues. Better not to increase the capacity in a hurry. Else they will have to take there decision back.

[1100D]

With the current Economic situation, once the initial euphoria of this Honda Diesel Sedan is over, the numbers are definitely going to normalise downwards.

I think the additional capacity should now be used to think of launching the Brio Hatch with the Earthdreams Diesel engine. Sure to keep numbers going when the going gets tougher.

[nik0502]

One of my friends who works for Honda told me that Honda never expected such volumes for Amaze and the bookings are three times what Honda had planned. He also told me that now they have a huge pressure from the upper management to boost up the production As soon as possible.

[deetjohn]

The EcoSport came too early for the Amaze. The increased capacity and the weak market completes the picture.

Not seeing many on roads here.

[Supercool]

Well Honda amaze diesel waiting period is over four months. I took a test drive but droped the idea because of waiting period. No company can increase production of a car ovet night. I think situation will remain same for another six months. I am not sure if eco sports will have any advantage as ford is also in a same situation.

[turbospooler]

Originally Posted by nik0502

One of my friends who works for Honda told me that Honda never expected such volumes for Amaze and the bookings are three times what Honda had planned.

I think your friend is playing safe by saying they did not expect such a thunderous response. How can Honda not assume this? If they really did not, then they need to fire their strategists for undersetting their own targets. 30000 units per month market size and they assume 5000-6000 per month?
Seems like they are trying to cover up for their planning goof up.

Originally Posted by nik0502

He also told me that now they have a huge pressure from the upper management to boost up the production As soon as possible.

The problem with this is that the QC takes a hit with this approach. See what happened to Ecosport due to the pressure of launching and they already have a recall on hand. Hope the pressure does not generate steam from the customers' ears!

[anky]

Originally Posted by Supercool

Well Honda amaze diesel waiting period is over four months. I took a test drive but droped the idea because of waiting period. No company can increase production of a car ovet night. I think situation will remain same for another six months. I am not sure if eco sports will have any advantage as ford is also in a same situation.

I don't think four months for diesel . I got mine in 25 days flat . Mumbai . VMT i-dtec .