Honda had been doing well with their products in India due to reliability and safety. The only problem with Honda was that neither launched any products nor they provided update to existing products. Its very bad thing that a brand with much scope in India is very much lacking. The lack of timely update and some factors even caused failure to their flagship sedan Civic to even fail in India in tenth generation. Here are some factors which caused failure to tenth generation Civic as follows:
No magic of eighth generation Civic
 |
The Honda Civic eighth generation had the VTEC magic unlike tenth generation
|
The Honda Civic eighth generation was a charm for the brand that was known for its fun to drive nature. Many enthusiasts who often drove a Civic loved to modify their cars a lot. The tenth generation Civic did have a petrol engine but the gearbox was very much slow shifting. The diesel Civic was the one that had a manual transmission however lack of a petrol engine with manual transmission was very disappointing. The eighth generation was still the best whether it's about design or fun to drive factor. The tenth generation also had great design however performance was disappointing with the VTEC motor as the magic vanished. Honda's CVT gearboxes are not very fast with shifts like Nissan's CVT gearbox which is the case with Nissan Magnite that has a fast shifting CVT.
Sedan Market falling in India
 |
| People got attracted towards SUVs more than sedans |
The Sedan market didn't remain strong in India due to shift of consumers in India towards SUVs. There were no better sedans that were launched in India. The Skoda Octavia in previous generation was even better than Honda Civic but unfortunately that too left India with RS245 sold as the last version in India before arrival of new generation. Due to decline in sales of sedan, manufacturers were hesitant in continuation of their sedans in market where there is no demand for sedans. Honda also decided that the eleventh generation sold outside India will not enter market anytime soon.
India as a market of the middle class
 |
| Honda Civic was great but a premium product |
Honda cars were well know for their reliability and performance in India. Safety was something in which the brand didn't left compromise however the tenth generation Civic was a very premium product. People in India prefer inexpensive products which are offered by major carmakers like Hyundai, Tata and also Maruti Suzuki. Indian market is mainly composed of middle clas families more than families who would prefer premium products for everyday use.
The tenth generation Civic would surely be forgotten hero but the eighth generation Honda Civic was a legend in India that made Honda very popular for many things. Honda should focus on bringing mass market products with the VTEC magic as that would benefit Indian consumers a lot.
0 Comments