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.
Passenger vehicle sales are expected to experience muted growth in the current financial year.
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.
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.
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.
According to industry data, for two months, sale of the Zest (7,359 units) were higher than that of Amaze (6,792 units).
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.
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 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.
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.
Honda, the Japanese carmaker, made its strong presence felt with the launch of new models and concept cars in the 2014 Auto Expo.
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.
Higher costs of car inventories, missing sales targets and manufacturer expectations, and soaring rentals, are eating into dealers' margins.
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.
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.
There was no sale of premium sedan Kizashi during the month.
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.
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.
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.
The company said its compact car Honda Brio will be launched as per the original schedule during the festival season this year.
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.
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.
Sedans and hatchbacks have both lost market share to SUVs, which now account for more than 50% share of the 4 million-odd-unit PV market in the country.
The ongoing elections and overall subdued market sentiment continue to affect the sales momentum
Of the 15 car manufacturing companies in India, eight have a market share of below 2 per cent, raising questions about their long-term future in a competitive market that has already seen Ford Motors and General Motors slam the door on India.
Leading carmakers Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai witnessed a double-digit drop in sales in October on account of the global semiconductor shortage impacting production. Kia India, Honda Cars and MG Motor also saw a fall in dispatches last month as compared with October 2020. However, companies like Tata Motors, Mahindra, Nissan and Skoda managed to post positive numbers last month despite the supply chain challenges.
At a time when consumers increasingly embrace green mobility solutions, it is not electric cars but hybrids that are taking the lead, as automotive sales data indicate. Since January, 64,097 electric cars have been sold compared to 266,465 hybrids, according to data from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways' Vahan dashboard. Hybrid car sales have surged from 4.42 per cent of the 4.1 million cars sold in calendar year 2022 to 7.2 per cent this year.
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.
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).
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.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances