Thursday, August 20, 2015
Despite price cut, Honda’s new Jazz price still steep
Just about a year ago, Honda had launched a new variant of the Jazz christened the Jazz X, pricing it at a steep Rs 30,000 above the existing model, and after a reality check, the Japanese auto major has somewhat realised ground realities of the Indian car market, pruning the price of the newly-launched Jazz hatchback by Rs 1.6 lakh, especially in the wake of the unprecedented slowdown the country’s auto sector.
A couple of months before, Honda had pared the price of its City by a whopping Rs 66,000.
The hatchback’s price (the Jazz) will now begin from Rs 5.50 lakh and it will take on the likes of Hyundai’s i20, Nissan’s Micra, Volkswagen’s Polo, Maruti’s Swift, Fiat’s Punto, Toyota’s Liva and Skoda’s Fabia, as the pricing will be similar now.
Earlier, the Jazz was priced substantially higher than its peers, leading to a slide in sales.
Honda’s Jazz was in fact the country’s costliest hatchback priced at over Rs 7 lakh. While last year, the Jazz had performed abysmally at around 500 cars a month on an average, sales has plummeted by over half after slowdown in the auto industry set in.
The new Jazz is rich in features though. Among the new additions is a new interior design, tilt steering column, integrated audio equipment with MP3/CD, steering-mounted audio controls, aux-in and USB, keyless entry along with answer back, magic seats and driver’s footrest and auto volume by speed.
Propelled by a 1.2-litre i-VTEC petrol engine (which is the same one found in the earlier models), the new Jazz offers a fuel economy of 16.7 km a litre, which is average. It has enhanced aerodynamic design on the front grille, beige interiors along with a USB port in the music system.
On the safety front, Honda has made no compromises (and offers the best of that). The new Jazz comes with safety features such as dual airbags and ABS which are standard, and is comparable or arguably even superior to that offered by cars like Maruti’s Swift, the Skoda Laura and the Hyundai i20.
While it seems that Honda is slowly getting a feel of the Indian market, its officials have attributed the price cuts to higher localisation in the manufacturing process, and with this move of pruning prices, the company hopes to see a spurt in sales volume.
Honda Siel Cars India director (marketing) Seki Inaba said, “The new Jazz, with its intelligent pricing, will surely attract buyers. With improved sourcing and economies of scale for the new Jazz model due to higher production, we are sure to grab a larger chunk of the market in the premium hatchback category.”
Honda had always been among the top automakers in the world in terms of product quality but the company somewhat failed to understand the Indian market’s psychology (paisa wasool strategy) where customers look for value-for-money products, in other words, products that are economically priced.
But lack of a diesel model will limit the demand for the new Jazz and may take a big toll on its sales.
Moreover, even after the price cut, the Honda Jazz’s on road price could touch Rs 6 lakh, still making it among the highest-priced hatchbacks in India and this could deter the new Jazz’s sales in the country’s price-sensitive market.
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