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Honda City under question on increasing petrol prices

The flagship model of Honda Siel, Honda City was denied to get a diesel variant but now with increasing difference between the prices of petrol and diesel, the car is to get in a tough time. The mid-segment sedan is facing a leadership challenged due to this price difference in fuel.

Jnaneswar Sen who is the senior vice-president (sales and marketing) in Honda is concerned for this changing trend. The Indian auto market is facing a huge change in terms of dieselization. And the major reason behind th changing pattern is the increasing fuel prices.

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Moreover the share of diesel cars in Indian auto market is growing at a large scale and it is estimated that within a period of three tears the diesel cars will enjoy 5 percent share of total sales in Indian auto market. Sen has commented that the company is concerned at the growing gap between the price of petrol and diesel which has been too sharp within a period of past one year.

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The company is worried for its flagship model Honda City as it lacks a diesel-engine variant. The second reason behind the worry is that the model went through a production cut due to the earthquake in Japan. The car has suffered a lot due to these two major reasons and the leading position is taken up by Volkswagen Vento in the luxury mid-segment sedan market. a total of 2,866 units were sold in the month of April of Volkswagen Vento a against the 1,542 units sold of Honda City sedans in the month. Other major players in this segment have been Maruti Suzuki SX4 and Hyundai Verna.

As per the industry experts, the change in scenario is due to the availability of diesel variants with the other competitors while Honda City still gets the petrol engine.