Team-BHP - Fourth generation Honda City

The fourth generation Honda City has crossed the 2 lakh sales mark in India. The car has achieved this milestone in a period of 32 months.

The car, which was launched in January 2014, has registered cumulative sales of 2,00,098 units by the end of August 2016. It has been a strong seller in the C2 segment.

Fourth generation Honda City - 2 lakh sales up!-4th-generation-honda-city.jpg

The City is available with 1.5-litre petrol and diesel engines. The petrol motor develops 117 BHP @ 6,600 rpm and 145 Nm of torque @ 4,600 rpm. The diesel unit puts out 99 BHP @ 3,600 pm and 200 Nm of torque @ 1,750 rpm. While the petrol comes with a 5-speed manual or a CVT, the diesel gets a 6-speed manual gearbox.

The Honda City was first introduced in India in January 1998 and has registered cumulative sales over 6.3 lakh units.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SPARKled (Post 4051785)

The Honda City is clearly under pressure from the Ciaz .

And for a simple reason- comparable variant to comparable variant, Ciaz is 2 to 2.5 lakhs cheaper than the City ! That's huge. Even for someone attempting to be discerning, Ciaz looks too similar to City. Good enough reason for the price conscious ones to make an easy decision. Ciaz has started outselling City over the last couple of months for this reason primarily (since the price cut).

IMHO, it will take a design refresh for City to overcome this obstacle. Stop looking like a Ciaz, and watch people plonk extra money (for good reason or no reason).

1st-Gen City. Cumulative sales of around 60,000 units.
2nd-Gen City. Cumulative sales of around 180,000 units.
3rd-Gen City. Cumulative sales of around 190,000 units.

4th-Gen City. 200,000 units and counting.

Clearly, the fourth generation has been the most popular among the masses till date. It has already crossed the cumulative sales of the third generation in about half it's life cycle.

Ironic that it does not feature in the top 20 cars (sold monthly) list anymore, Ciaz taking a clear lead this year. Hopefully the mid cycle facelift brings in some much needed changes.

Honda city is not losing sales to Ciaz only because of the price difference. Main reason is that the 4th generation diesel City does not feel like a Honda at all. City till its previous generation felt solid, had no niggles and carried that snob value well.

If price was an important reason, Creta and Crysta will not be seeing the 8000+ units monthly sales that they are seeing now. People are ready to spend, but they want it's value to be tangible, inside-out.

If the 5th generation city idtec gets quieter, sorted out from all minor niggles, I will be happily replacing my Ciaz with a new Honda City.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR (Post 4051990)

Clearly, the fourth generation has been the most popular among the masses till date. It has already crossed the cumulative sales of the third generation in about half it's life cycle..

I guess this would be more due to the overall growth of Indian car market, rather than popularity of 4th generation over previous generations.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AkMar (Post 4052017)

I guess this would be more due to the overall growth of Indian car market, rather than popularity of 4th generation over previous generations.

That too, but the addition of a diesel engine really did help matters initially. But as Honda has clearly stated now, there is not much demand for the diesel variants anymore.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR (Post 4051990)

......

Clearly, the fourth generation has been the most popular among the masses till date. It has already crossed the cumulative sales of the third generation in about half it's life cycle.

....

Even though the 4th generation had its flaws, the main reason its outsold the 3rd generation within half its lifespan is purely attributed to 2 reasons

1.The Diesel Engine
2.A Truckload of features

These are the 2 things that most indians care about. Mileage and fancy gadgetry! and of course the bling factor (Read: Chrome). Add the highly respected "Honda" badge into the mix and it seemed to be the perfect recipe, well, at least that's what Honda thought. The one place Honda can improve the sales of the city is by slashing the price. IMHO though, i don't think with what Honda is offering with the City right now is worth paying for. Yes,Brand value plays a role here but the product is not justified for said price.

I remember someone referring the the city as the "IPhone of the C1 segment" or something along those lines. pardon me if I'm wrong with the quote though. (was it the official review thread?). But given its VFM or rather the lack of it, i'd agree!

Quote:

Originally Posted by One:1 (Post 4052029)

I remember someone referring the the city as the "IPhone of the C1 segment" or something along those lines. pardon me if I'm wrong with the quote though. (was it the official review thread?). But given its VFM or rather the lack of it, i'd agree!

Believe you are referring to this post -

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...ml#post4048544

Quote:

Compare it to phones as far features and build quality goes:

Ciaz: Xiaomi(wannabes- loaded with features, excellent sales)
Verna: Samsung(loaded with features, good build but can be better)
Linea: Nokia(excellent build but no sale)
Vento:Sony(some sale, good build but isn't the best)
City: iPhone of the C segment.

:banghead:

Here's the complete breakup of the 4th-gen City's sales innings, month-on-month:

Fourth generation Honda City - 2 lakh sales up!-untitled.gif

The C2-segment Honda sedan has been averaging ~6,252 units per month ever since it was launched in January 2014.

But, the average sales per month has dropped to ~4,541 units per month for the past 7 months, which could be a worrying factor for Honda Cars India, going ahead.

Still, fending off tough competition from in-segment sedan offerings from other companies + strong challenges from similarly-priced crossovers/SUVs in a market increasingly deviating towards the same in the past year or so, the success story of the Honda City is very laudable.

The biggest factor working in the City's favour is the market shift towards petrols right now, considering how strongly the City sold in it's petrol-only avatar in it's first 3 generations in India. Honda needs to ensure they don't sit back on their laurels and keep the City lineup adequately refreshed to ensure steady, consistent numbers till the mid-life facelift arrives sometime in the second half of 2017.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana (Post 4052008)

Is the Ciaz any more solid and niggle is the main point of contention right now. I have sat and traveled extensively in my friend's Ciaz and frankly apart from the plain jane looks, its a design that ages rather quickly, which by the way is purely my point of view, I really did not like the build quality at all. I too agree that the real issue is the pricing and a cut will really do wonders to it which I think will be here soon once the refresh date approaches. The previous gen City too followed a similar approach.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SPARKled (Post 4052403)

I too agree that the real issue is the pricing and a cut will really do wonders to it which I think will be here soon once the refresh date approaches. The previous gen City too followed a similar approach.

Alternative approach would be to introduce more features - how about introducing 6 airbags (similar to Malaysian model)? If they do, they have 1 buyer ready to take plunge and buy City.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SPARKled (Post 4052403)

Ciaz isn't more solid but it sure is niggle free. Looks are subjective. IMO city doesnot look any better than the ciaz.

Both the cars feel the same to be in. My point of view is, why buy a Honda that feels like a Maruti, when you can buy a Maruti that is equally laden with features and space, at a lower price point.

Honestly, Honda will never cut prices. If they did so, it will become a big dent to the "Honda City" image.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana (Post 4052553)

Both the cars feel the same to be in. My point of view is, why buy a Honda that feels like a Maruti, when you can buy a Maruti that is equally laden with features and space, at a lower price point

Ciaz might be a decent VFM but no way does it feel same to be in IMO. Parts which are borrowed from Swift are an eye sore for this segment. City without a doubt is not VFM and is way overpriced. But the interiors do look better ( not commenting on quality).

OT : No way a Ciaz petrol can match Honda 's I-VTEC :) . Both their diesels suck so not commenting on it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana (Post 4052553)

Honestly, Honda will never cut prices. If they did so, it will become a big dent to the "Honda City" image.

Boss Honda has done this earlier in 2010/2011 model of City.

IMO Honda will have to correct the price of the City keeping in mind that other models of Honda are hardly a hit . There are better options at price point of City top end Diesel.