Reference Auto

Honda Motor Company is inching towards developing a small (affordable) car: first it launched the Jazz last year for Rs 7 lakh, and now at the auto show in Bangkok, the Japanese giant has announced that it will roll out the 1.2-litre petrol hatchback Brio in India next year with a price tag lower than Rs 5 lakh.

Next is what for Honda? A car in the Rs 3-lakh category? As per the company, the Brio is being developed for Asia, with Honda mainly targeting Thailand and India.

The car maker is yet to learn lessons from the tepid response to its hatchback Jazz (which registered a average monthly sales of 600 cars this year). Despite a lukewarm response to the Jazz, Honda had launched a new variant of the hatchback at a higher price around a couple of months back, misunderstanding the Indian market completely.

Manufacturing of the Brio will first take place in Honda’s greater Noida unit and, if the response from the market is good, the car maker will shift production to the second plant in Rajasthan. Since the price of the Indian Brio variant is lower, Honda will source from suppliers within the country.

The Brio that will be launched in Thailand will be an Eco Car, where it will provide a good mileage of over 20 km per litre. Honda plans to launch the Brio first in Thailand around March for Baht 40,000 and the car will roll out in India at a lower price along with a lower mileage later but the company claims the Indian variant will be more powerful.

An upbeat president and CEO of Honda Motor Company Takanobu Ito said the Brio will propel India’s market share to a new heigh. “Till now, Honda’s presence in India was limited to the premium category. Since we were not present on lower end cars, we did not grow. With Brio, we hope to meet customer needs and see our market share surge.”

Ito also said more products, especially in the small car category, was on the anvil but did not reveal any plans.

Honda is not a diesel engine specialist, and in India, it does not have any diesel car. But with carmakers finding many takers for diesel variants (as the fuel is substantially cheaper than petrol), Honda will have to weigh this option seriously, especially among the fuel-guzzler models, such as the SUVs.

Owners of Honda vehicles such as the City, Civic and the high-end Accord can vouch for their quality. In fact, Honda is one of the top brands in the world which is known for its quality and in order to do well in the Indian market with its cars, it has to shed its snooty tag, do some reality check as to what customers want and provide them exactly that.

That is, if the customer wants a cheap car, he should have it. Only then can Honda think of making its mark in the Indian car market with launches such as the Brio or perhaps even a small car.