All the minor irritants can be overlooked when you can get automatic transmission, diesel fuel efficiency and a Honda badge, all for less than a million rupees, says Pavan Lall.
A three-hour heavy downpour accompanied by a dust storm hit Delhi-NCR early morning on Friday, causing flight delays and traffic disruptions as seven people were killed in rain-related incidents across north India.
According to industry data, for two months, sale of the Zest (7,359 units) were higher than that of Amaze (6,792 units).
Reflecting the mood, passenger vehicle sales in November either remained muted or skidded for most manufacturers as high fuel prices and the higher cost of borrowing dampened buying sentiment.
Buying a car, particularly a diesel-powered one, is set to pinch the customers' pockets even more from the next financial year, as the second phase of Bharat Stage VI (BSVI) emission norms kicks in. The rules require cars to be compliant with real driving emission (RDE) norms, which measure pollutants emitted by cars while they are being driven on the road, unlike in a laboratory test. The norms may increase the cost of producing diesel vehicles by nearly Rs 75,000 to Rs 80,000, and petrol-powered ones by Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000, analysts said.
Honda, Toyota, Volkswagen stitch plans for country-specific mall car models. With India increasingly becoming the production and sales hub for all major car manufacturers, international giants like Honda, Toyota and Volkswagen are pulling out their drawing boards for an all-new India-specific car model.
Japanese auto major Honda on Monday said it will recall 72,115 units of its mid-sized sedan City in India to replace defective power window switches as part of a global exercise.
The strike, however, had no impact on production of auto majors Maruti Suzuki India, Hero MotoCorp, Honda Cars India, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors and Hyundai Motors India as their plants in various parts of the country functioned normally.
Brio, cheaper City and Jazz and diesels could pave the way for growth in India.
So, does the Brio live up to the hype, in the end? After this first-drive, I would have to answer in the affirmative.
Maruti, Hyundai, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra and Honda saw their passenger vehicle sales improve in August compared to the same month last year, although Ford and Toyota witnessed a decline.
The new Honda Accord will be available in three types -- Accord 2.4, Accord 2.4 Elegance and Accord 2.4 Inspire. The price of the vehicles start from Rs 16,49,000 (ex-showroom Delhi) and go up to Rs 18,14,000.
HSCI has now appointed Seki Inaba the director (marketing) for the Indian market. Inaba, who takes over from Tatsuya Natsume, will be responsible for marketing, sales and after-sales initiatives of the company in the country.
Honda, the Japanese carmaker, made its strong presence felt with the launch of new models and concept cars in the 2014 Auto Expo.
While offering discounts of up to Rs 1 lakh, Hyundai, Ford and Honda are also hiking prices by 1-2% from January, Swaraj Baggonkar/Business Standard reports from Mumbai.
Higher costs of car inventories, missing sales targets and manufacturer expectations, and soaring rentals, are eating into dealers' margins.
The model, which will compete with the likes of Hyundai Verna, Maruti Suzuki Ciaz and Skoda Rapid, now features smart devices ecosystem including Alexa remote capability and 32 connected features as standard feature across all variants with a five-year free subscription.
There was no sale of premium sedan Kizashi during the month.
Maruti's exports in May were down 2.4% at 9,089 units
The car will now be available between Rs 7.49 lakh (Rs 749,000) and Rs 9.89 lakh (Rs 989,000) -- ex-showroom, Delhi, a statement from Honda Siel Cars India said.
Japanese automotive giant Honda Motor Co said on Wednesday it would double its production capacity in the country to 1,00,000 units by 2007, three years ahead of the original schedule.
Fuel price hike will impact demand going forward.
Cumulative sales of India's top passenger vehicle makers -- Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra and Mahindra, Tata Motors, Honda Cars, and Toyota Kirloskar -- increased to 206,418 units in February over 200,322 units in the same month last year, an increase of 3 per cent.
Maruti Ciaz and Ertiga are exempt from the infrastructure cess and so, there is no change in the prices of these models.
The company is on the lookout for the possible locations for setting up the greenfield plant.
Honda Siel Cars, India on Tuesday said it would be investing Rs 700 crore (Rs 7 billion) in the Indian market over the next five years.
The company said its compact car Honda Brio will be launched as per the original schedule during the festival season this year.
Honda has made the new City more premium and stylish.
Models pose for the Honda Jazz launched in Mumbai on June 11.
Honda Siel Cars India has started training its sales force to counter the challenge of SX4, the sedan launched by Maruti Udyog on May 7.
Honda Siel Cars India President and CEO Masahiro Takedagawa, in an interview with Business Standard, shares the company's India strategy, including the launch of hybrid technology (a first on Indian roads), small cars and outlook on diesel technology, an area where the company is losing ground to other auto majors. The company launched its 8th generation Accord today in Mumbai.
The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Monday reported a 11.8 per cent increase in wholesales to 164,469 units in February. The company had sold 147,110 units in February last year, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said in a statement. Domestic sales increased 11.8 per cent to 1,52,983 units last month, as against 1,36,849 units in February 2020, it added.
The ongoing elections and overall subdued market sentiment continue to affect the sales momentum
Sales of the CR-V have been falling in recent months with the company reporting sale of just one unit of the SUV in September this year.
Passenger vehicle sales are expected to experience muted growth in the current financial year.
Honda has finally made its entrance into the country's competitive compact car segment, with the launch of the Honda Jazz. In Mumbai, Jazz standard will cost Rs 7.43 lakh (Rs 743,000), Jazz Mode Rs 773,000 (Rs 773,000) and Jazz Active Rs 778,000 (Rs 778,000).
Compact sedans (Maruti Dzire, Hyundai Aura, Tata Tigor)' share in the overall sedan category grew from 68% in 2021 to 74.6% in 2024. Mid-sedans' (Honda City, Maruti Ciaz, Volkswagen Virtus) share declined from 26.2% in 2021 to 20.2%.
Taking exception to an advertisement by Maruti Suzuki India in November last year in one of the newspapers published in Chandigarh, HSCI's notice said a comparison between SX4 and the new Honda City was made, which had 'given completely false figures of the new Honda City in order to show superiority of your product SX4.' The comparison relates to height and length of the new Honda City as well as the 'absence' of integrated stereo systems.
German car maker Volkswagen was the first company to offer airbags on all its variants in India from the beginning of this year.
HSCI has now appointed Seki Inaba the director (marketing) for the Indian market. Inaba, who takes over from Tatsuya Natsume, will be responsible for marketing, sales and after-sales initiatives of the company in the country.
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