Honda India top officials have confirmed that the auto company has finally taken the decision to stop the production of Accord in India. Main reason behind phasing out its flagship sedan has been flagged as its dwindling sales. According to a report in Economic Times, the auto company will look ahead to focus on the production of its smaller models. Jnaneshwar Sen, Senior Vice President for Marketing and Sales at Honda Cars India, reportedly confirmed proceedings as, “We have stopped production of the current eighth-generation of Accord in India. It is our flagship brand and we would be looking at the next generation of the sedan for Indian customers, though the exact launch details have not been worked out yet.”
After this tough call, the auto company now looks ahead to emphasis on Brio and Amaze in order to gain on their respective segments. Earlier, the car maker made a call to phase out Civic from the Indian market owing to its fast-diminishing demand. Civic was a segment leader, but eventually could not go along well with its rivals like Hyundai Elantra, Toyota Corolla Altis and Chevrolet Cruze.
Until now, Accord had played a crucial role in spearheading Honda's globally renowned engineering trademark in the country. However, sales of this sedan were dwindling as customers increasingly looked forward to go for brands like Volkswagen and Skoda as Accord did not have a diesel version. The price of this sedan was between Rs. 20.44 lakh and 21.23 lakh and there were other good options for customers at the same price. Whole story about drastic decrease in sales is also evident from its statistics. The auto company managed to sell only 272 Accord units during first eight months of the current financial year. A total sale that eighth-generation Accord has been able to accumulate since its introduction in 2008 is 11,492 units.
Sources close to the company officials have hinted that Honda India will now shift its focus on hatchbacks and sedans, apart from the premium sedan segment. Brio and Amaze will be two vehicles in hatchback and sedan segments, respectively, while CR-V will hold grounds in the premium SUV market. The price of CR-V lies between Rs. 20.59 lakh to Rs. 24.67 lakh and its sales have increased as many as four times during the first eight months of the current fiscal. One important thing here is that the comparison is being held against a smaller base (186 units) sold last year.
With eight-generation model phasing out, Sen has reassured that the auto company is thinking about the introduction of the ninth-generation Accord. It is likely that its ninth generation model will be hitting global markets, including the ASEAN region in early 2014. The top boss also said that the company is still to work out a plan for the Indian market. Many experts believe that the company would try to introduce a diesel option too in order to challenge vehicles like Nissan Teana, Volkswagen Passat and Skoda Superb.
