Latest Car News in India

New Honda Jazz with enhanced fuel economy

Honda Motors premium hatchback Honda Jazz which is sold in United Kingdom carries a similar spec as compared to that present in the Indian version, which is a 1.2 litre i-VTEC petrol motor that engenders a maximum power of 90 Bhp. The Japanese car maker has now being added with a start-stop button to the hatchback in order to make it more fuel economic, however Honda has cut down on the tail pipe emissions. The start-stop button triggers by switching off the powerplant provided the hatch is indolent for more than 10 seconds. The person riding the car and pressing the accelerator pedal again and again restarts the engine.

Few of the cars in India are already bestowed with this system, cars which have this system belong to Mahindra and Mahindra clan, some of the SUVs and MUVs made the home grown auto maker. A lot of cars from across the globe now come affixed with the start-stop system that helps in abating consumption of fuel by up to 5 to 10 per cent, specially in the high traffic city conditions. Honda India gave a soft makeover to Jazz last year, therefore the Indian version cannot get this system in near future, however by 2013 the Indian version of the premium hatchback Jazz could get the start-stop system.

Honda’s first offering in the hatchback segment in the Indian car market, Honda Jazz was a dud seller due to its high pricing; however the monthly sales started improving when the car sliced a huge chunk of amount from the Honda Jazz price. Honda Jazz is now priced close to its competitors giving Indian customers more choice in the premium hatchback segment. After the company cut down Jazz’s cost the demand has surged for the hatchback so much that Honda is facing a tough time in fulfilling the demand. The waiting period of the hatchback has shoot up to four months. Due to the floods in Thailand where Honda has its facility, the company was facing a crunch in supply of parts which has now gone ever since the company resumed production at Thailand plant.

Localisation of parts has been a major reason behind bringing down the cost of Honda Jazz in India. The company has also adopted a similar strategy for its flagship sedan, Honda City and Honda Brio hatchback which made its debut in the domestic market last year in September. Due to this, the company has been able to price Brio competitively and also cut down on the cost of City. Sales have picked substantially after this massive cut in price. However, the company is developing a diesel engine for these cars. Honda is likely to launch the first diesel car in the form of Honda Brio diesel by either early 2013 or by Diwali 2012.