Honda’s first small car in India, the Honda Jazz never really took off since it’s launch a few months ago.
Honda Jazz
Honda’s first small car in India, the Honda Jazz never really took off since it’s launch a few months ago. The main stumbling block of the Honda Jazz hatchback was it’s senseless pricing which almost rivaled the all new Honda City. While the Honda Jazz has enough space to rival C segment sedans, it is still a hatchback. Indians traditionally consider hatchbacks inferior to sedans. And this factor along with the high price is what is going against it in the Indian market. Though Honda has always commanded a premium for all it’s cars in India due to Honda’s exemplary quality, the Jazz has shaken this premise. Honda’s loss is Hyundai’s gain with it’s premium hatchback, the i20 doing very respectable numbers.
Hyundai i20
This has forced many Honda dealers to give discounts on accessories up to the tune of INR50,000 to push Jazz sales. This could increase in the future with discounts directly on the ex-showroom price of the Jazz. Previously, the all new Honda City too had tacky looking interiors in spite of it being a 10 lakh plus car. This, angered many all new Honda City owners as they felt shortchanged by Honda. We hope that Honda learns it’s lessons quickly and prices it’s cars more sensibly. It cannot hope to overprice it’s cars and rely just on it’s quality and brand value for sales. It’s rivals have caught up with quality products that rival the best Hondas. Wake up Honda.