The ongoing diesel ban in certain markets and the shift in consumer preferences for petrol-powered vehicles have led to declining sales for several major carmakers. Honda India, for one, is struggling off late as sales of both the City and the Amaze have crumbled significantly year-on-year.
While the overall sales in June 2016 stood at 11,407 units, as against 18,380 units during the same period last year, sales of certain models like the City and the Amaze have dropped by an alarming margin. Honda India, in fact, sold just 3,581 units of the City and 1,617 units of the Amaze in June 2016. Now although these numbers are slightly higher compared to May 2016, the year-on-year performance tells a completely different story.
Honda sold 7,187 units of the City and 6,834 units of the Amaze in June 2015. Comparing that to the previous month’s figures, there is no question that both these models’ best days are far behind. The Japanese carmaker’s disappointing year-on-year period is the latest in a string of unsettling reports from the biggest of car brands in India. While there are several reasons for it (read: sharp decline in diesel car sales and narrowing gap in prices of petrol and diesel) Honda India has declared that the brand has been rationalising wholesale dispatches to correct the stock situation at the dealerships, due to the petrol-inclined buying trend. It is now being said that this trend is expected to continue for some time and that more manufacturers are to roll out petrol powered derivatives of their existing models to alleviate the overall sales.
