With Jazz, WR-V, 4th Gen City gone, Honda will be left with just 5th Gen City and Amaze sedans and that too with petrol engines only
The Indian automotive industry faced a massive challenge when transitioning from BS4 to stricter BS6 norms. A lot of diesel engines had to be axed as they just wouldn’t meet stricter emission norms. India’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki even turned the entire portfolio petrol-only and ditched diesel for good, including its just launched 1.5L DDIS 320.
If you think the hard part was over, it was just the beginning. Norms that kicked in in April 2020, were just phase 1 of the transition and phase 2 is set to be brought into picture from April 2023. From April 2023, cars should meet BS6 emission norms in RDE (Real Driving Emission) conditions along with complying with MIDC lab conditions.
Honda And Mahindra To Discontinue 8 Cars
This way, powertrains that somehow passed phase 1, will be phased out in phase 2 if there is less demand. Honda and Mahindra seem to be shedding more cars than other manufacturers. Let’s take a look at 8 cars that will bid adieu from the Indian market.
Skoda and Hyundai are shedding two models each from their respective lineups. Manufacturers like Tata, Maruti Suzuki, Renault, Nissan and Toyota are shedding one model each from their respective lineup. This is due to low demand and economies of scale won’t allow additional changes to make them comply with phase 2 of BS6 transition.
While the above-mentioned manufacturers are discontinuing one and two models from their respective lineups, Mahindra is dropping three models from its lineup and Honda is dropping five models, which is very alarming. Mahindra will be left with seven vehicles to offer, while Honda will be left with just two.
Honda will axe Jazz, WR-V, 4th Gen City, Amaze diesel, and 5th gen City Diesel. Both Jazz and WR-V were at the end of their respective life cycles. Even though 4th generation Jazz is sold overseas, India never got it. Jazz had lost its diesel powertrain and was only offered in a petrol option owing to popularity of petrol engines with premium hatchbacks.
WR-V is only offered in diesel engine options. Both Jazz and WR-V performed poorly in their segments when sales figures are concerned. 4th gen City was kept on sale despite the arrival of 5th gen model and will now be discontinued. 5th generation City and Amaze are offered with a diesel engine option. Owing to poor demand both these sedans will lose their diesel
KUV100 & Marazzo
Mahindra had kept offering Marazzo and KUV100 for a long time despite extremely uninspiring sales (mostly zero). Alturas G4 will also slip through the cracks as rivals like Fortuner absolutely dominate this segment. From April 2023, Mahindra will pull the plug on three of its vehicles.
Honda is likely to bring the new gen WR-V SUV that was recently launched in the ASEAN market. If launched, it will be sold in B-segment with trimmed bumpers to fit under a 4m length restriction. WR-V SUV is likely to turn Honda’s fortunes in India along with recently spied 5th gen Honda City facelift.
