Honda Siel Cars India, the Indo-Japanese automaker JV is anticipated to hold on the launch of the ninth generation of its flagship compact sedan, Civic for the Indian market. The new Honda Civic has been rolled out in Australia, U.S, Thailand and other overseas markets but the challenges posed by the current Indian auto market scenario is restricting the launch of the car in the country.
Civic marked its debut in India in 2006 and since then, the car has been ranked as the segment leader in the Indian auto market. In the last financial year the sales of Honda Civic declined to a major 2,296 units as compared to the sales scored by its compatriots, Toyota Corolla at 8,904 units and 8,002 units sold by Chevrolet Cruze.
The Indian auto market has been witnessing a catapult in the demand for diesel powered vehicles giving a tough time to the petrol powered vehicles as the prices of petrol are on a constant rising note. Honda Civic is not available in diesel powertrain and the next gen model is also not expected to be launched with a diesel engine while its fierce contenders are present with the diesel versions for the major target market.
As per a component manufacturer associated with the Honda Civic project revealed that the price of the upgraded version of Civic has rendered it unfeasible for launch in India as its rivals have been shelved at lower and highly competitive prices.
In June 2012, the sales of the car maker slipped by 23 percent to 2,667 vehicles and despite huge price decline pronounced for Honda City and Jazz, the sales figures have not been on an encouraging phase.
