[lsjey]

- New C1 segment SUV was supposed to be launched this year based on previous interviews from Autocar with Kunal Behl from Honda. But that SUV is a no-show.

- New generation of the Honda Amaze is also due this year, per reports from Autocar. But no test mules have been spotted and launch seems unlikely.

- Elevate sales are lacklustre for the C2 segment. Honda's total sales per month has not changed much compared to June'23. Elevate has simply cannibalized the sales of the Honda City and has not contributed to additional sales.

Do you think Honda will launch any new car this year?

Whats their future going to look like with lackluster sales and few aging products in their portfolio?

We are looking to buy a Honda car and getting confused by what Honda is doing in India.

Regards,
Lsjey

[IshaanIan]

The Amaze will be Honda’s big launch for this year with possibly an Amaze based mini crossover slated for next year. The reason you may not see any Amaze test mules is because it is not a clean sheet product. The engines other drivetrain components and even the overall dimensions in terms of its footprint are likely to remain the same considering it competes in the sub 4m segment thus a lot of of suspension componentry will also be carried over and not really require extensive testing.

I am no expert but I believe for companies like Honda, launching an Amaze is more about new body panels and styling, revised crash safety measures and extensive testing of the touchscreen for Apple car play and Android auto tethering, not much else

[Karthik1100]

I read in some article, New WR-V is going to be launched this year. Honda should work on getting Mid size SUV, Compact SUV than Sedans.

[Nithesh_M]

The Elevate is the new WRV in international markets. The Amaze will be the only launch this year end.

[Shreyans_Jain]

Honda will continue to remain in coma unless they shake up their powertrains. The same old engines from 15 years ago just don’t cut it anymore.

New Amaze is expected this year, but it is only going to be a cosmetic update. The mechanical bits will remain unchanged.

[kgt.v8]

Honda desperately needs to flush out existing managers and bring in new people who understand Indian market.
When you take look at Honda global product portfolio, you find some good SUVs out there with good reliability factor
1. CR-V
2. Pilot
3. HR-V
4. Passport
Honda needs to price their products right to keep them competitive and not follow Toyota to price the cars exorbitantly high.

I know some people who want to upgrade from Honda City to larger car and they don’t have any option in Honda India portfolio except Elevate. Elevate may not feel much of an upgrade in terms of interior space for City owners.

[SmartCat]

It is not the engine. Maruti does well plonking its 1.5L engine everywhere.

And it is not the lack of turbocharging. I don't think people outside TeamBHP care. I suspect people are more apprehensive about power generated by 1.0L Turbo (of Hyundai/Kia/VW/Skoda) than a "big" engine like 1.5L iVTEC. Also, while Hyundai/Kia/VW/Skoda have 1.5 Turbo, Honda/Maruti/Toyota have hybrid tech. Basically, 1.5L iVTEC is a good match for 1.0L Turbo in terms of price, power or acceleration. And 1.5L iVTEC + hybrid seems to be a good match for 1.5L Turbo in terms of price, power or acceleration.

It is probably the lack of models (just Amaze, City & Elevate). Sure, Kia too has just 3 (Seltos, Sonet, Carens), but their design/looks/interiors have the wow factor when compared to evolutionary look of Honda models like Amaze/City.

[saikishor]

Honda test mules are not really known to be spotted around in the wild. Same with Honda bikes as well. That said, I am pretty sure Honda will launch the new gen Amaze this year, going by their past record of launching new generations every 5-6 years.

[sharmanova]

Originally Posted by saikishor

Honda test mules are not really known to be spotted around in the wild. Same with Honda bikes as well. That said, I am pretty sure Honda will launch the new gen Amaze this year, going by their past record of launching new generations every 5-6 years.

Yup, even the 4th gen City was never spotted testing.

For me the ideal Honda Portfolio would be:
City Hatchback < Amaze < WRV < Elevate < City < Pilot < CRV

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by SmartCat

It is not the engine. Maruti does well plonking its 1.5L engine everywhere.........It is probably the lack of models (just Amaze, City & Elevate)..

True.

If they are bringing in the 1.5l turbo, then okay. But replacing the 1.5l vtec with the 1.0l turbo for being with the times would be a stupid move. The 1.0l turbo is more of a compliance engine and anyway the City/Elevate won't get sub 4m benefits. The Amaze could maybe use it

Just wonder whose hare-brained decision was it to not give the Elevate the 1.5l hybrid option and wait till 2026 for an EV version.

[iSubham]

Originally Posted by DicKy

True.

Just wonder whose hare-brained decision was it to not give the Elevate the 1.5l hybrid option and wait till 2026 for an EV version.

I think it was more of a supply chain issue. The City hybrid is not manufactured in India. The powertrain is imported from Thailand and assembled here. (Maybe that was the reason it was prices so atrociously here- expensive logistics).

Honda saw the spectacular flop that the City e-HEV was even when compared to its moderately successful Maruti/Toyota counterparts which by all comparisons feel inferior to Honda's hybrid implementation.

They concluded that, to price the Elevate competitively against the GV/Hyryder, would require significant investments to localise the hybrid powertrain as Maruti/Toyota have done. And since they have neither been confident about investing deeply in India, nor do they have a clear path ahead, they decided to simply skip it and minimise any potential losses.

At this point, I don't have much confidence about Honda's future in India. The Elevate has'nt been the success they had hoped. Sales YoY are flat. All said and done, they are barely selling 5000 units a month (sure exports are strong now, but they need a strong home market, to see value in India in the future)

[SavoyWalrus]

The fact is that Honda's most fun and exciting cars are in the used car market. The Brio, Accord, and Civic are so much more interesting cars than the three cars they have in their lineup now. What a fall from grace.

[ron178]

I don’t see why the new Amaze wouldn’t be on track for a Diwali launch, but I think expecting the (Indonesia-style) WR-V is a bit of a stretch as the primary reason for moving the next Amaze to the City V platform is to streamline production. They never really confirmed a sub-4m SUV for India, although elevating the new Amaze (pun intended) should have been a no-brainer IMO.

[chakravorty]

Originally Posted by sharmanova

For me the ideal Honda Portfolio would be:
City Hatchback < Amaze < WRV < Elevate < City < Pilot < CRV

No love for the ZR-V, eh?

[lsjey]

Wanted to add a few more points on my frustration with Honda:

1. Honda makes excellent and reliable cars. There are enough people IMO who are willing to pay a premium for good cars.
2. And, Honda service in India has been top notch. One rarely sees unethical practices of service centres of Honda. So they have good dealer and service network. Other OEMs will love to have such service centres, and for them service centres are their Achilles heel/Kryptonite.
3. They have an iconic car in Honda City. Whoever, had bought their discontinued cars like Civic, Jazz, and Brio were and are still very happy and satisfied with these cars. I for one cannot understand how Honda came to the decision of stopping these cars.
4. Honda IMO is doing well overall financially worldwide. So what is stopping Honda from investing here in India? I agree that Covid pandemic hit and caused problems. But that doesn’t explain Honda’s reticence to investing in India.
5. India is a growing market and almost without exception, every carmaker is saying that India is an important market for them and will invest here heavily. But Honda is not doing this.
6. I donot see any policy or tariff or non-tariff issues in the Indian market which are impeding Honda. MG and BYD are Chinese companies and they are able to flourish despite hurdles.

Given the reasons above, it seems that Honda is really not interested in the Indian market and does not see the Indian market as a good fit for its products. What do you guys think?

Regards,
Lsjey