The month of August brought celebrations to the Honda camp, as, according to the information communicated by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), Honda outperformed its rivals yet again. It managed to sell 5,819 units of the City last month, while on the other hand, Hyundai made it to 4,211 units for the new Fluidic Verna. Volkswagen witnessed a dip with the sales of 3,019 units of the Vento.
The Honda City has dominated the top position of the mid-level sedan market for quite sometime now. The initial variants of the high-selling car were not something extraordinary or out of this world. However, there space and practicality quotient overpowered the features possessed by even a hatchback. Honda frequently upgraded its ace car and stepped-up its design, to offer it a more stylish and attractive appeal than before. Another fact that has helped City earn laurels is the i-VTEC engine variant of the car, which was introduced few years back.
It is important to note that, in the month of March this year, Volkswagen broke the plateau of City's undeterred performance in the mid-size premium sedan segment. The company achieved a sales figure of 3,973 units of the Vento as against the 2,773 units of the City. Responding immediately, Honda Siel rationalised the prices of the sedan by up to Rs. 66,000, by adopting certain cost reduction measures. The move got a positive feedback and Honda City, presently, acquires 40 per cent share of the segment.
Jnaneswar Sen, Senior Vice-President, Marketing and Sales, Honda Siel Cars India was quoted as saying “We were working on 50 per cent capacity due to disruption in supply of components from Japan (after the earthquake). This is now normalising. Besides, our research and development team had set up base two years back. Their mandate was to increase localisation content for our small car, the Honda Brio, and to work out cost reduction methods for volume models like the City. We were able to pass on the benefits of these efforts to our customers.”
The major reason that counts to Honda's uninterrupted success is the low maintenance costs attached to it and consistency in performance. Talking about City, it is a skilfully worked upon model that offers a consummate riding experience, making it a family car. However, the widening price disparities between petrol and diesel have seen the latest variant of Vento, which is available in both petrol and diesel, outperformed City in recent months. Because of the fact that Honda City is available only in a petrol version, competing sedans have an upper hand. According to the anticipations of the car market, except City, approximately 80 per cent of sales for all other models are registered under the diesel fuel variant.
However, Sen responded regarding forecasts of unfavourable trend for Honda City by saying that “There is an initial premium you pay when you purchase a diesel vehicle. Unless you drive 2,500-3,000 km every month, the cost benefits of buying a diesel car do not come in. Customers recognise that.”
