Honda Cars bets on New Amaze for growth in India

Honda gets 40% of its sales from first time young buyers

With the launch of the new Amaze, Honda Cars India is trying to ramp up its numbers as the model has been a trump card of sorts for the Japanese carmaker. Already, the Amaze has been a success for Honda and they hope to take it several steps ahead with the facelifted version that was launched recently.

“This is the only car that is designed ground up as a sedan. We have been able to design and develop a fully proportioned sedan which is one size higher in an under-four metre proportion. That is probably one of the reasons for the success of the Amaze second generation,” said Rajesh Goel, Senior VP and Director, Marketing and Sales, Honda Cars India.

68% of Amaze sales come from Tier II and Tier III cities in India, Goel said. Around 40% of sales come from first time young buyers. Around 20% sales come from those who buy the CVT version. That gives us confidence that people find value in the way that Amaze has been made. We are number one in Kerala and Gujarat and with this offering, I hope we will be able to strengthen this position further. We hope Amaze will help us achieve our business plan where we intend to grow by double digits compared to the previous year, he added.

Goel said more products were in the offing from the Honda stables. “I will confirm that Honda is developing an India-focussed brand new SUV. That is another segment that we will look at. We will not be able to offer you any further details on this at the moment. There will also be a mass market hybrid next fiscal,” he revealed.

SUV growth has contributed 30% to 32% of the overall car market in India, he said, adding that it could be because of product intervention.

“There are some 14 products competing in the sub-four and above four-metre SUV segment. But with sedans, as a percentage, the segment may not grow. If you look at a five, seven or 10-year perspective, because of the growth of the Indian market the absolute numbers may not really come down although they did witness a comedown in the year 2021. But in the longer term, they will remain stagnant or grow slightly,” he added.