Despite the introduction of a few new products in the year gone by, the sales at Honda Car India have not been particularly strong. The company plans to address the situation by refreshing its current line-up of products along with introducing all new products in the coming years. The BR-V is due for a launch soon, though going by the response to the Mobilio and the vehicle’s relatively ‘soft’ appearance it wouldn’t probably be apt to pin heavy hopes on the model. Honda is trying to strengthen its proposition in the market, and recently introduced the face lifted version of the Amaze with spruced up interior to appeal anew to its audience. The BR-V will follow in May, and the new Accord, showcased at the Auto Expo and the face lifted City will follow in 2016. What we are particularly interested in, however, is the news of the Japanese carmaker planning an all new Jazz based crossover for the Indian market, with a proposed launch as early as January 2017.
Honda Concept D – image for representational purpose only
Apparently, the good blokes at ET have managed to siphon the information out of the company by talking to some of the insiders. “The 2FM crossover vehicle will be showcased at the Sao Paolo Motor Show in Brazil. Unlike the other crossover vehicles in the market, the Jazz-based crossover is more like an SUV and will be able to generate strong volumes,” one of the four persons contacted said.
Honda expects to sell 5,000 units of the crossover of on a monthly basis, with a projected timeline for the start of production in December.
There has been a global uptrend in the interest towards crossovers and SUVs in the past few years, especially so in the Asian, and even more specifically Indian market.
Jnaneswar Sen, Sr. Vice President, Marketing & Sales, Honda Cars India Ltd said “The smaller SUV/CUV segment has gained a lot of interest among Asian customers and Indian customers in particular”
The company wants to sell 3 lakh units for the FY 2017, which seems like an uphill task going by the current sales. Honda can achieve the target only with a slew of launches in popular segments and the 2FM seems to be the right move.
Would a Jazz based crossover work for Honda to garner good sales volumes? Do you think an yearly target of 3 lakh units is achievable for the Japanese car maker in India? Do share your views with us.