)
Japanese automobile major Honda Motor Company on Thursday launched the Amaze, its first diesel car in the Indian market, at an aggressive entry price of Rs 5.99 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). The petrol version of the model is priced at Rs 4.99 lakh. The Amaze would take on market leader Maruti Suzuki Dzire, priced upwards of Rs 5.99 lakh (diesel) and Rs 4.92 lakh (petrol).
The Amaze, along with four new models Honda has lined up for launch in the Indian market through the next two years, is aimed to increase the company’s share in the passenger vehicle segment from the present 10 per cent to 50 per cent.
The Amaze has Honda’s new 1.5-litre i-DTEC diesel engine. The company claims this offers 25.8 km/l, compared with 23.4 km/l offered by Maruti Suzuki DZire’s diesel variant. Currently, the Chevrolet Beat (diesel) is the most fuel-efficient car in the country (25.44 km/l). (HONDA MAKES DIESEL DEBUT WITH AMAZE)
Yoshiyuki Matsumoto, managing officer, Honda Motor Company, said, “The Amaze is our most strategic model in the Indian market and has been developed with a strong focus on Indian requirements.”
Hironori Kanayama, president & chief executive, Honda Cars India, said, “We are looking towards newer horizons in the Indian market. We have worked on aggressive localisation, overcoming many challenges, in terms of timelines, technology and costs. Amaze will be a game changer for us.”
The Amaze has localisation levels of about 90 per cent.
The model is targeted at mid-income, middle-age buyers. Amaze offers the highest power and space in its segment. The entry-level sedan also qualifies for the excise duty benefit enjoyed by small cars in India. Currently, any car with petrol engine capacity under 1,200 cc, or diesel engine capacity under 1,500 cc, and length less than four metres attracts excise duty of 12 per cent.
Industry experts say while it is expected the Amaze would see a strong response, given Honda’s value proposition, capacity constraints may pose a challenge for the company. Honda produces 10,000 units a month at its Greater Noida facility. The company’s second vehicle assembly line at Tapukara wouldn’t come on stream before next year. Last week, the company announced it would invest Rs 2,500 crore to increase production capacity to 2,40,000 units and set up a diesel engine unit and a forging plant at Tapukara, Rajasthan.
Earlier, Honda Cars India had said it planned to introduce five new models (including the Amaze) by 2015. Apart from the upgraded version of the Jazz (expected to hit the roads in 2014), Honda would also launch sedans and utility vehicles based on the Brio platform.
Owing to the lack of diesel vehicles in its portfolio, Honda’s share in the passenger vehicles market fell for three consecutive years till 2012. However, after the launch of small car Brio, the company recorded volume growth of about 35 per cent.
