Honda Car India has shared a new teaser for a possible launch of a new car on 9th Jan 2023
Honda cars have been on sale in India for over 25 years. With the kind of brand following they have had, one would have expected Honda to be among the top car manufacturers in India today, but that is not the case when we look at sales numbers.
In 2022, Honda sold 95k cars. This places them on the 7th spot in the list of top car manufacturers for the year 2022. Above them, on the 6th spot is Toyota with over 1.6 lakh cars and below them is Renault on 8th spot with 81k cars sold in 2022. Market share of Honda Car India stands at 2.51% in 2022. With the kind of dealer network and brand name they have had over the years, their market share today is lower than expected.
New Honda Car Launch On 9th Jan?
Currently, Honda sells Jazz, WR-V, Amaze, City 4th gen, City 5th gen and City hybrid in India. Come April 2023, and they would have discontinued Jazz, WR-V, City 4th Gen, Amaze diesel and City 5th gen diesel. This is because from April 2023, new BS6 phase 2 norms kick in. Cars which do not have enough sales, are getting discontinued as their engine’s are not going to be updated to meet new emission norms of India.
So by April 2023, Honda will have only Amaze petrol, City 5th gen petrol and City hybrid on sale. That is if they do not launch a new car before that. And it seems like they are getting ready to launch a new car, if we are to take their latest social media update as an indication.
As per the above update, Honda Car India is getting ready to unveil something new on 9th Jan 2023. The update reads “Stay tuned for something new!” Not much has been revealed apart from that. What could it be? Is anyone’s guess. But considering that they are soon going to run out of cars to sell in India, it is logical that they launch a new car or atleast show what is expected to be launched in the coming months.
What could it be?
Honda Car India has been testing the new City facelift for some time now. Spy shots have already been shared on the internet. It is likely to get updated with revised front and rear. Interiors might also get refreshed with updated new touchscreen, seats, features, etc. Launching a facelifted City might help them to an extent, but will likely not solve the bigger problem of increasing sales.
So what else? Well, SUV is the flavour of the season, or has been the flavour for some seasons now. SUV sales are registering growth year after year in India. And any car maker not offering a single SUV in their portfolio in 2023, will lose big time in terms of sales.
The good news is that Honda has plans to launch a compact SUV in India. It will rival the likes of Creta, Seltos, etc – a segment which registers over 35k sales every month. New players have regularly entered this segment. In the last few years we have seen the addition of MG Astor, Skoda Kushaq, VW Taigun, Maruti Grand Vitara, Toyota HyRyder in this segment. Will we see Honda adding their SUV to this list in 2023, only time will tell.
