[csnanjappa]

I am of thinking that , when we think of buying premium brand we only have the option of affording Honda here in India. Most of them cannot afford a VW ,Audi, Merc ,BMW .....

So when Honda prices little bit high we seem it not be VFM.
None of premium car is VFM for money then.
So if we cannot afford a Honda there is no point in bashing Honda , we have FIAT always .

Think u have plot for selling @10lacs to unknown customer.
But your brother is willing to pay 8lacs and buy the same plot.
Who do u sell the plot to ? I guess for the unknown customer.

So If Honda thinks Indian customer is willing to pay that money for the car, why should price less. Time will give a answer for Honda if they are not selling well they will naturally reduce the price else they will continue thinking the pricing strategy is right.

[Joy73US]

I remember few years ago, during a staff meetiong Honda president has said that Maruti is in India for so many years and while Honda started their operations just few years ago still the profitability wise Honda is doing much better than Maruti.

Also I heard from one of my friend that whenever Honda sells an accord it has a margin of City in it.

[StarVegabond]

Originally Posted by csnanjappa

I am of thinking that , when we think of buying premium brand we only have the option of affording Honda here in India. Most of them cannot afford a VW ,Audi, Merc ,BMW .....

So when Honda prices little bit high we seem it not be VFM.
None of premium car is VFM for money then.
So if we cannot afford a Honda there is no point in bashing Honda , we have FIAT always .

Think u have plot for selling @10lacs to unknown customer.
But your brother is willing to pay 8lacs and buy the same plot.
Who do u sell the plot to ? I guess for the unknown customer.

So If Honda thinks Indian customer is willing to pay that money for the car, why should price less. Time will give a answer for Honda if they are not selling well they will naturally reduce the price else they will continue thinking the pricing strategy is right.

I agree with this fully. I have one more example

Luxuary (@home) is not about having 25 dishes for lunch
but having those 3-4 dishes but with excellent hygine, quality, aroma, taste, appearance.

Premium is not being able to have several dishes, but being able to have a cook at home who can make dishes as one needs it.

I still think Honda Cars are the best in the segment, many not be having equipment (=VFM as we indian understand/perceive) but the Build Quality, Stability, Driveability, Reliability, Performance over years, After Sales Service, Consistant marketing massaging etc are the reasons for Honda still commanding the price as of now.

But who Knows the future !!!

[akj53]

Well Honda has outpriced itself on CRV and Accord V6, as there are hardly any sales. The cheaper Accord 4 cylinder has been whipped by Superb and Altis outsold Civic 3 to 1 in May. Only the City is selling as it has not faced any real competition so far, and I doubt that Jazz will be able to maintain volumes after the initial excitement has died down.

[JayD]

If skoda can sell that baby tractor they call fabia, for 8lac plus, i see no reason why honda can't sell the jazz at the same price. The diesel advantage and equipment in the tractor is made up by honda in reliability, A.S.S, and resale.

P.S: Can someone tell me wht is there a (300?) in the thread title??

[McLaren Rulez]

Originally Posted by JayD

P.S: Can someone tell me wht is there a (300?) in the thread title??

Because one member says his sources tell him 300 while the OP thinks its 1000. I think we still don't know who's right.

As for pricing, in addition to what I said in my earlier posts there's also the Honda resale value. Honda's are quite expensive in the used car market too. For a potential buyer, its a significant thing. So what if you throw in an extra lakh now knowing you'll get back more than that when you sell the Honda as opposed to other cars.

[phamilyman]

koshun: how many of those cars are actually bought by maruti or hyundai etc for testing?

FWIW, maruti bought many palios on launch to disassemble and emulate the engineering fundae/cost savings/improvements

[d3mon]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

koshun: how many of those cars are actually bought by maruti or hyundai etc for testing?

FWIW, maruti bought many palios on launch to disassemble and emulate the engineering fundae/cost savings/improvements

I believe that's standard practice at most factories. But only when the company considers the car to be any competition.

I don't think maruti is threatened by the Jazz

[ghostrider]

Originally Posted by muralisk

I just don't understand what is the problem if Honda Jazz is priced at certain level. If, I as a buyer, can afford and see value in it, then it is completely my choice to pay for the car/ brand/ or whatever and others should have no concern or reason to tag me as a crazy buyer.

So you've never commented on someone else's purchase that didn't make sense to you? All that most people are saying here is that a particular product available in the market is overpriced.

Originally Posted by muralisk

If they cannot afford or see value in it, then please go else where.

Last I checked this was a free country. People have a right to express themselves, so I'm not sure they need to "go else where." 'Elsewhere' is one word, by the way.

Originally Posted by muralisk

Why crib about it? Why are we making choices and decision for the vast buyers of this country.

No one is "making decisions" for any one else. They're merely expressing an opinion.

Originally Posted by muralisk

Honda had built an impeccable brand world over and hence people buy their products, even if there are cheaper options available in the market. Now that is the pricing power that a brand gives to their products. How many of you if are in the business of making prodcuts would not do the same? Please be honest, at least to yourself.

It's quite simple. At the end of the day a product like a car is priced based on certain parameters... performance, safety, features, cost of ownership, satisfaction index, etc. The common consensus seems to be that Honda cars are overpriced considering what they offer in terms of these parameters.
As a former owner of a Honda Accord 3.0L V6, I concur with the general opinion on this board, which is that Honda products are now overpriced in this country.

You are free to purchase whatever you want, and have done just that by purchasing this particular product. In the very same way, other people are free to express their opinions about a product. There's no reason to be indignant or self-righteous about it.

[gsajjanraj]

I completely agree and echo the general concenses, that Honda Jazz is overpriced. I do agree that it is a premium compact car with all the luxuries and safety features and Blah blah blah... BUT...

1) whatever be the space inside, the gimmicks with the back seat and the big boot space it boasts about, it is still a Hatch back

2) though it has all the safety features, under the hood it is still under powered and why has Honda gone with a engine of lesser CC?

It is not about peoples affordability or disappointment. It is just that the mass is not able to convince themself with a genuine reason on the sky high proce for a down to earth hatch back.

[aaggoswami]

Originally Posted by muralisk

I just don't understand what is the problem if Honda Jazz is priced at certain level.

Honda had built an impeccable brand world over and hence people buy their products, even if there are cheaper options available in the market. Now that is the pricing power that a brand gives to their products. How many of you if are in the business of making prodcuts would not do the same? Please be honest, at least to yourself.

Both Honda and Toyota are highly reliable and to prove this, there is no better testimony that the US market. I personally know and seen many people in the US buy the luxury american/ german cars for their weekend party's or get-together and for their daily grunt travelling, they depend on their Honda's and Toyota's. These cars are quite reliable even after running for over 150K miles.

The problem is that we feel Honda has overpriced the car and this is in general a wrong thing to do so. Atleast I believe that they are very over confident thinking that they can charge whatever they want for any of their products. This gross over pricing can be considered Glorified Cheating IMHO.

Yes, I would price the things in high segment, but not insanely high. Jazz is a good car, but for the same if they had given in 1.5, this would have crushed the competition for sure. I20 and Fabia would literally be history. The main problem IMHO is weak motor that is certainly not as exceptional.

US market is quite different that us. They have dealers that are not very arrogant as they have laws to prevent injustice to customer. Visit any of dealer of Honda in US and then in India, things will get abundantly clear that Honda US and Honda India are different.

There is no doubt about the overpricing. This can be proven by the fact that CR-V is now very very slow selling vehicle. A person at TBHP mentioned that CRV was withdrawn from market from April 1, though I am not sure about statement, the slow sales are result of horrible overpricing.
Similar is case with Civic. Initially when it came into the market, it was selling like water is being sold in Sahara Desert. Right now, Altis is the one to beat. Why ? Is the case similar in US where others have beaten down Civic. NO.
Accord V6 is another case of overpricing.

IMHO, all cars in Honda range except the Civic are overpriced by a huge margin.

Originally Posted by Joy73US

Also I heard from one of my friend that whenever Honda sells an accord it has a margin of City in it.

This is news to me. I am sure that Honda is minting money from Indian operations.

Originally Posted by JayD

If skoda can sell that baby tractor they call fabia, for 8lac plus, i see no reason why honda can't sell the jazz at the same price. The diesel advantage and equipment in the tractor is made up by honda in reliability, A.S.S, and resale.

Well, we know what we have done to Skoda. They could not get away, atleast not from enthusiasts. And also remember that Fabia has better chassis, ride and handling which Honda can just dream to match.

[muralisk]

Originally Posted by ghostrider

So you've never commented on someone else's purchase that didn't make sense to you? All that most people are saying here is that a particular product available in the market is overpriced.

Nope. I never pass a comment on anyone. I would even moderate my opinion when I have to say it.

Originally Posted by ghostrider

Last I checked this was a free country. People have a right to express themselves, so I'm not sure they need to "go else where." 'Elsewhere' is one word, by the way.

Thanks for correcting.

Originally Posted by ghostrider

No one is "making decisions" for any one else. They're merely expressing an opinion.

There is a fine line between these and hence my point.

Originally Posted by ghostrider

It's quite simple. At the end of the day a product like a car is priced based on certain parameters... performance, safety, features, cost of ownership, satisfaction index, etc. The common consensus seems to be that Honda cars are overpriced considering what they offer in terms of these parameters.
As a former owner of a Honda Accord 3.0L V6, I concur with the general opinion on this board, which is that Honda products are now overpriced in this country.

Apart from all these parameters, there is something called "brand value" and it commands a price and premium too.

Originally Posted by ghostrider

You are free to purchase whatever you want, and have done just that by purchasing this particular product. In the very same way, other people are free to express their opinions about a product. There's no reason to be indignant or self-righteous about it.

I have no problems with opinions. They are welcome. However, I am not trying to be self-righteous about anything and just like others, I am also stating my views. I see nothing wrong with it.

[CBlazer]

Not sure what the point of this thread is. The article itself seems speculative - this isn't based on any official Honda communication, there is no mention of the source. What is this motorbeam.com anyway?

We could as well continue this discussion in the Jazz TD thread.

[sanjaykk]

Originally Posted by muralisk

Apart from all these parameters, there is something called "brand value" and it commands a price and premium too.

I'm not quite convinced with this statement. Does it mean that if Honda were to market Indica Vista as its own product, it could've been priced 2L higher than it current price?

[ghostrider]

Originally Posted by muralisk

Apart from all these parameters, there is something called "brand value" and it commands a price and premium too.

So what benefit do you derive from "brand value"?