Reference Auto

So, Honda, which is not into diesel cars in a big way, finally plans to launch the Amaze (with a diesel engine), which is the sedan version of the Brio, but to find a place in the entry-level sedan market, Honda will have to price it right.

“The new entry-level sedan Amaze will roll out in Thailand and India. Details of the models will be announced later this month in Thailand and fiscal 2013-14 in India,” Honda Cars India stated. The company further revealed that, “In India, the Honda Amaze will be available in a petrol engine as well as a newly developed diesel engine.”

In Thailand, only the petrol variant would be introduced, the company added.

According to the company, the car with amazing features will have superb power delivery, with unprecedented fuel efficiency and would be affordable.

Well, to talk of making it affordable, Honda will have to shed its tag of a costly car maker and price it very competitively like some of its big competitors such as Maruti Suzuki, which makes the Swift DZire.

In India, the Amaze will come in two engine types, that is, the Brio’s 1.2 litre petrol one, which offers around 90 PS and 109 Nm. The diesel model will come with a 1.5 litre engine with 100 PS and 208 Nm. This model can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/hour in about 12.5 seconds.

The diesel variant could offer a fuel efficiency of 25 km to a litre and this is an amazing feat for a diesel sedan.

While the diesel model will have only a five-speed manual transmission, the petrol variant will be offered in both five-speed manual and automatic transmission options.

The price of the Honda Amaze is expected to be in the range of Rs 5 lakh-Rs 7.5 lakh and would vie with the likes of Toyota Etios, Mahindra Verito, Renault Scala, besides the Maruti Suzuki Dzire, among others.

Honda had to bring in a diesel variant to India otherwise its Amaze would have found few takers. But by rolling out the diesel variant, Honda has thrown the gauntlet, especially at Maruti Suzuki, and Honda needs to raise awareness about the diesel variant, especially after people know it to be a maker of petrol cars.

So, by pricing it right, Honda may make headway into the diesel sedan market (considering its super fuel efficiency as claimed by the company), which may give the Japanese car major another leg-up, just like the Brio did but at the same time it may result in some cannibalisation also, where the Amaze may eat into the City’s sales, may be in a big way.