The Japanese carmaker, which had concentrated more on mass market models such as the 'City sedan' in recent years, is now feeling the need to focus a bit more on the premium end of the market which has been left vacant after the Civic and Accord were discontinued.
Honda will launch the Accord Hybrid in September but that still leaves a gap between the big executive sedan and the City, which the Civic could neatly plug. Honda also feels that by the time it launches the Civic, there will be a ready market for it.
Honda sold the eighth-generation Civic from 2006 to 2013 and it had a fairly successful run. Apart from being the 2007 Autocar’s Car of the Year, it was the segment leader for most of its life cycle.
Honda, which discontinued Civic in 2013, did not replace it with its successor. Also, by Honda’s own admission, the ninth-generation Civic was globally deemed to be below mark, which is another reason why it discontinued the model.
Since the international debut of the tenth-generation Civic last year, Honda is confident of its successful re-launch in India. Though volumes are unlikely to be anywhere close to the 2007 peak levels when the sedan sold over 2,500 units a month, its cars like the Civic and Accord are now urgently needed to reboot Honda’s premium image, especially with the company’s concentration on the lower end of the market.
Source : BS Motoring