Honda Siel India plans to discontinue the D-segment sedan, the Civic, in India soon. Autocar India reports that the Japanese car maker has stopped importing the CKD kits and will stop production after remain units are built. The stocks with the dealers are expected to exhaust by Diwali – after which the Civic will be withdrawn from the Indian market.
Report says that the lack of diesel engines is the main reason for the step. The Civic sales are far lower than its competitors due to the unavailability of an oil-burner – sales of the sedan in April, May and June did not even reach triple digits. Honda does have an efficient 1.6-diesel engine for the European market; however, the engine is not compatible in India, mainly due to poor quality of diesel. The company has launched the 2012 Civic in the global market very recently, but also confirmed that it won’t be brought here for the same reason.
Honda India plans to launch diesel cars in India by the end of this year. The Brio diesel has been caught testing several times and the C-segment sedan, City, is expected to get a diesel mill by mid-2013. The Civic will not get priority as the numbers are not very high in the D-segment. This sedan was once the best-seller in the segment; however it started losing its sheen once the diesel gained importance in the Indian market. We are sure, even Honda is aware that mere facelifts or next generation models will not help their cause and only diesel engine will help them get numbers. We have always loved this D-segment sedan from Honda and hope the company has plans to bring back the model in not so distant future.
