Honda Jazz in India competes against other premium hatchbacks like Maruti Baleno, Tata Altroz, Hyundai i20 and Toyota Glanza
After three generations and selling over 100,000 units, Honda has pulled the plug on Jazz in Malaysia. Production of the premium hatchback ceased in the country with immediate effect and the last unit rolled out of the carmaker’s local facility in Pegoh, Melaka.
Honda Jazz Discontinued In Malaysia
Images on social media reveal workers in the factory gathered all around the Lunar Silver-coloured Jazz to get some photos clicked. Rumours of discontinuation of the B-segment hatch have been doing rounds in the Malaysian market for a long time and now the Japanese carmaker has finally put an end to speculations by discontinuing it.
Honda has been planning to replace Jazz in all South Asian markets, barring Singapore, with a sportier and presumably more affordable new-gen City hatchback. The car made its international debut last year and eventually sealed Jazz’s fate. This means the new-gen Jazz which made its debut in Japan a few months earlier will not probably be offered in South Asian markets after all.
Jazz made its debut in Malaysia 18 years ago in 2003 and for the first nine years, it was available as a locally assembled CKD vehicle. The company launched the second generation model of Jazz in Malaysia in 2012 which incidentally became the first CKD car to be offered with a hybrid powertrain.
New gen Honda Jazz debuted in 2020. Just like India, Malaysia also did not get the new gen Jazz, and continued with the older gen Jazz. Malaysia has no plans to launch new gen Jazz. Honda has no plans to get the new gen Jazz to India.
Jazz- Powertrain Specs & Features
Powering the Malaysian-spec Jazz was a familiar 1.5-litre i-Vtec petrol engine that churns out around 120 bhp and 145 Nm of peak torque. In Jazz, this unit is exclusively coupled with a CVT automatic gearbox. The India-spec Jazz, however, is offered with a 1.2-litre i-Vtec motor which kicks out 89 bhp and 110 Nm of peak torque. This engine is paired with either a 5-speed manual or a 7-step CVT gearbox.
Honda offers a decent amount of creature comforts on Jazz which includes features such as LED headlamps and fog lamps, a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, an electric sunroof, automatic climate control, cruise control and more. Safety kit on offer includes features such as dual front airbags, rear parking sensors, and ABS with EBD as standard.
Jazz isn’t a strong crowd puller in the Indian market as well with the premium hatch unable to register a four-figure monthly sales volume in a long time. However, there have been no reports of Honda discontinuing Jazz in India.
City Hatchback- Engine Specs
The City hatchback is expected to be launched in Malaysia early next year and its engine specs are likely to be identical to its sedan sibling. It will be offered with two powertrain options- the standard 1.5-litre i-Vtec naturally aspirated unit paired with a CVT gearbox and an e:HEV hybrid unit. The latter features an electric motor generating 107 bhp and 253 Nm of torque which is linked to a 97 bhp and 127 Nm Atkinson-cycle engine for a total system output of 124 bhp.
