Honda Looks To Go More Premium; Hints At Civic Return

Honda launched the new City in January 2017, receiving over to 5,500 bookings. The Maruti Ciaz had recently toppled the City as the top selling sedan in the country, and Honda wants to change that.

Updated: Wednesday, February 22, 2017, 13:19 [IST]

India's fourth largest carmaker Honda Car India, which has not played the volume game successfully, is hoping to reclaim its premium tag with the new Honda City.

Honda To Target Upper Segment In India With The New City

Honda launched the first City in India back in 1998 and has been the only product that has been consistent in sales for the company. However, in 2016, the City had a tough year with sales dwindling due to lower sales compared to the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz.

The Japanese carmaker has a reason to be optimistic as the fourth-generation Honda City was launched in India in January 2017, has notched up over 5,500 bookings.

The healthy bookings should come as a shot in the arm for the company as it looks to topple Maruti Ciaz as the segment leader.

Honda Cars India president and chief executive Yoichiro Ueno said "We are so overwhelmed by the response to our new City. We have already received more than 5,500 bookings for the new City. And with this, we hope to regain the market leader in the segment as well as to regain our premium player tag,"

He further added "We don't want to be known as a cheap or mass brand. We want our brand to be known as a premium car brand. Our focus will be the upper segment going forward,"

He also said that they have decided to maintain their traditional positioning, which is a bit more premium though not luxury.

The company will target customers who are a bit different from others regarding the product, service, and customer experience.

Ueno also hinted that the premium Honda Civic would make a comeback as it looks for an aggressive play in the premium segment and staying away from the mass market segment which is currently dominated by Maruti and Hyundai.

The president and CEO said the company would also drive in a new compact sports vehicle WR-V, based on the Jazz platform.

He also disputed the claim that Maruti Ciaz is the segment leader, saying, "That company has gained from using regulations to its advantage. The petrol City sells several times more than Ciaz petrol version, while that company is selling more diesel models because of the subsidies, Excise duty benefits as well as the incentives arising from the FAME scheme, while we get none of them. So they can play the price game as well."