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      Honda India to focus on small car segment; plans phase out of Civic in December

      CarTrade Editorial Team

      CarTrade Editorial Team

      Honda Motor Company, the Japanese multinational auto maker, is in a restructuring process in the country and might remove most of its premium sedan cars from the Indian car market. According to Nikkei, Honda will be trimming down its current Indian saloon fleet and will focus on compact segment, instead.

       

      Honda India to focus on small car segment; plans phase out of Civic in December
      Honda India to focus on small car segment; plans phase out of Civic in December
       

      Recently, the company remodelled the Honda Siel Cars India Limited, the company's Indian Joint Venture (JV), into a completely owned subsidiary. According to Business Daily, Honda India has deferred the sales of its recently revamped Civic car and might also relinquish its plans of the production of a refurbished variant of Accord saloon in the country. The paper also pointed out that the Japanese car maker may take the premium Accord car out of the Indian passenger vehicle market.

       

      Honda India to focus on small car segment; plans phase out of Civic in December
      Honda India to focus on small car segment; plans phase out of Civic in December
       

      Sources of NDTV have affirmed that the Honda India will withdraw its Civic car by the end of this year and the Accord sedan will remain in Indian car market but its sales will determine its future. The move may be inspired by Civic's sluggish sales due to intense competition in the market against the likes of Chevrolet Cruze and the revamped Hyundai Elantra Fluidic.

      Honda India witnessed a sharp 70 per cent increase in its vehicle sales between the January and July this year as against the 20 per cent plunge recorded in 2011. The recent upswing is reported to have been fuelled by the sales of Honda Brio, which is the latest vehicle by the company in the compact car segment.

      Reportedly, the Indian car market saw a 6.7 per cent increase in sales in July this year. However, the figures fell short of the estimated projection for the month and sales are supposed to have plummeted on account of increasing excise charge and vehicle finance rates.

      In contrast to what trend followed by the other car makers in the Indian auto industry, the development of compact Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs), the decision of Honda India on focussing over small car segment may be termed abnormal at first. However, the possibility of a long time visionary prospects by the Japanese auto maker for the Indian market may also be a relevant factor. Investing in the small car segment could be a smart move as the segment dominates the overall passenger car sales in the country.

      honda brio | brio | Honda