[McLaren Rulez]

I really don't see why Honda's overpricing is such an issue to many members here. If you think they're overpriced, that's fine. Nobody is forcing you to buy their stuff.

[gsajjanraj]

The worst thing out here is that Honda has priced it so high even after getting all the privileges of a small car, with a smaller length and lesser powered engine.

This one fact makes me think Honda is just robbing the Indian Car buyers just because it has a brand name. I understand and accept that Honda Jazz has all the so called safety and luxury features, but just bcos Honda offers them and others dont, doesnot mean Honda should double their profit margin.

It is high time we Indians, dont buy over priced cars just for the brand name without a good VFM. Afterall it is our hard earned money that is going elsewhere outside India.

[skandyhere]

A greedy company tries to cash in on some kind of pseudo premium image. It is a problem. One, it draws other manufacturers to the big old vice of greed. If that happens, you get poorer cars at crazy prices and it hits you as a consumer.

Two, just as some people LIKE a car and don't mind paying a fat premium over its true value, most people DISLIKE the idea of a car company pretending to be a luxury brand. Honda is pushing its luck in India trying to look like a Rolls Royce.

The Indian car scene is yet to see all that there is - which is why it makes sense to look at things globally and realise that even if Honda is a great successful company that engineers great cars, it has its own place in the scheme of automotive things. Honda is no BMW.

[McLaren Rulez]

Originally Posted by skandyhere

A greedy company tries to cash in on some kind of pseudo premium image. It is a problem. One, it draws other manufacturers to the big old vice of greed. If that happens, you get poorer cars at crazy prices and it hits you as a consumer.

There are always companies that undercut the competition to look like better VFM. Do you ever see Hyundai or Tata overprice its cars? Just because Honda does it doesn't mean they'll all do it. Its a free market share that they're fighting (tooth and nail I might add) for, remember? You'll never see that scenario of all carmakers colluding and overpricing in a free market because someone will always undercut.

Originally Posted by skandyhere

Two, just as some people LIKE a car and don't mind paying a fat premium over its true value, most people DISLIKE the idea of a car company pretending to be a luxury brand. Honda is pushing its luck in India trying to look like a Rolls Royce.

Most people dislike that idea? Then why is Honda doing so well? Clearly, many Indians don't mind this which is why Honda is sitting atop the sales charts despite the perceived high prices. When Honda pushes its luck too far they'll face problems. So its a risk they are taking as a company to make profits. Fine by me.

Originally Posted by skandyhere

The Indian car scene is yet to see all that there is - which is why it makes sense to look at things globally and realise that even if Honda is a great successful company that engineers great cars, it has its own place in the scheme of automotive things. Honda is no BMW.

So BMW has a right to charge a premium on its cars but Honda doesn't? How is that fair to Honda? Brand equity is something every company cashes in on and Honda is no different. They built up their brand image here and are now reaping the benefits just like BMW or Rolls Royce built their image and now cash in on it worldwide

[pgsagar]

1000 bookings of Jazz? What's so great? Even the ugly Logan sold pretty well soon after its launch. Where is it now? Novelty factor pulls in buyers. That's it. No one in his right senses, I believe, would buy a Jazz. If you do then you have either too much money you don't know what to do with or you are such a Honda fan that you would even buy a bullockcart with an "H" badge.

[parimal_g]

People are crazy for Honda Brand in India.

Its same with Bikes also see the number of Activa's on road.
Number of Unicorn's even stunner(stunning price).

[spetnaz]

Originally Posted by pgsagar

No one in his right senses, I believe, would buy a Jazz. If you do then you have either too much money you don't know what to do with or you are such a Honda fan that you would even buy a bullockcart with an "H" badge.

Oh, let's be fair to people who would want to buy a Jazz. They have their own reasoning. Like the T-BHP member who bought/booked? the Jazz, coz he wants to carry stuff like cycles etc within the car. He has a unique requirement, and the Jazz probably suits him (although very, very over-priced).

And there are tons of people I know, including my own boss, (who have the ability to shell out 10 L at will) who just don't know which is from a higher segment - the Civic or the City - and has already decided on a City. Hell, they don't even know which cars fall into which segment. They don't even know there's a new ANHC which succeeds the NHC, and they most likely don't even care. He wants to avoid a Toyota coz a brother-in-law told him to, and he doesn't remember why. My point is that there are informed users, and lots of uninformed users, which is where the brand value matters.

Now, nobody expects the Jazz to be a scorcher in terms of sales. I'd be looking at the long term record though.

[CBlazer]

The first sentence suggests that there were 1000 bookings within the first week of it's launch. It's common knowledge that lots of bookings were done prior to the launch and some of these were cancelled after the launch too (as discussed in other threads).

Apart from the first sentence the rest of the article is pure general knowledge.

What's discussed on this forum is taken very seriously. If Honda has sold a 1000 cars so be it, but let's make sure we get our information from authentic sources. We need to have strict rules on Team BHP to make sure such claims are indeed authentic or else we'll just end up helping rumour mongers.

[devarshi84]

Let's just wait for the monthly sales thread. 1000 in one week is too much unless Honda started discounting already.

[pb10gagan]

i think we should wait for the monthly sales thread before passing any judgement on the success and failure of jazz.
all these reports of initial booking is more of a publicity stunt.
this months monthly sales report will be interesting because all of us want to know how many of jazz sales have come at city's expense.
but i am more interested in seeing how much of linea's sales are cannibalized by jazz? ( am i stirring a hornet's nest here?)
i know jazz and linea are not an apple to apple comparison, but lets see whether a person who has 7.5 lacs to spare would buy a sleek linea or a jazz?
lets see how market dynamics work this time?
if jazz settles to be a good seller, then i think all of us will be really really surprised, and then maybe for a moment we can think of the fact that there is a lot more to making a good selling car than just pure engineering enthusiasm.

[tanwaramit]

First week figures are always a pleasure for any manufacturer who holds a high image in India. Let us wait and analyse the numbers 10 weeks down the lane. Linea, Xylo, all had high bookings during the first few weeks, it will stagnate soon, but the question is how soon !!

[aaggoswami]

Originally Posted by normally_crazy

300 is a figure that I have since the launch. And my sources are pretty strong. So I would take that 1000 figure with a pinch of salt.

I think you are correct. 1000 is a mighty big figure a small car costing this much. I believe we must wait for the monthly sales report for concluding if this car is really selling well or not. And give the car a month or two to settle down. Initially many cars do well, but its after 4-5 months that I would be interested in sales figure to get a good idea if the car is selling well or not.

Within four-five months the ownership cost will also be considered by many like what is cost of spares, etc. This can also play a big role, but only after the car has spent sometime in market.

@normally_Crazy : You have also mentioned in some other thread that CR-V was withdrawn from market in April. So I can trust your information of 300 cars.

[indiandevil]

Just a note on the notion in this thread that the general opinion is that the Honda Jazz is overpriced. Firstly, the Jazz is one of the few compact offerings in the Indian car market that is actually a current model in countries like the UK and US, so in terms of tech, this car is miles ahead of other outdated offerings from Hyundai, Maruti, Mahindra and Ford. (i.e Alto, Santro, Logan, Fusion, ikon, basically the cars we dont like). As for the pricing, to be frank it is actually on par with the pricing offered in the UK and US. In the UK, it ranges from 10,000 to 14,000 pounds, which is roughly 7.5 to 10 lacs, and in the US it is called the Fit, which ranges from $14,900 to $17,000 which is again 7.5 to 9.5 lacs. So we can't really say that Honda is greedy and is trying to rob the Indian consumer.

[hrishig]

This can be seen as good news and bad news.

Bad news:-

Honda and similar brands will push cars with lessser an lesser features and indian are going to buy it. So there goes our hope for getting feature loaded cars with good build quality , smoother engines etc etc at proper INDIAN price.

Good news:-

This proves super duper ..... hatchback segment exists in India for only few brands ( Remember Getz attempt by hyundai and finally making it 1.1 brining it down than the original level )

Now we can expect 15 lkh OTR hatchbacks from BMW( 1 series) , Merc in few years in INDIA.

[rajneeesh]

It would be a good idea to see the incremental numbers notched up by Honda Siel as a result of the Jazz launch. It may well go on to canniballise the Honda City ( as is the case between the City and the Civic) . That may not be very good for Honda as a company which is selling approx 50 K cars a year after more than 10 years in India.

The numbers in the first 2-3 months do not mean much. There is the novelty factor for a new product in addistion to the stocks moving to the dealers. 110 dealers with 20 cars each adds up to approx 2200 cars.