Honda India to launch four new models by 2015

Honda India has said that it will launch four new models by 2015. The four launches is a part of its part majors expansion plans for the Indian market that includes a new diesel engine plant at Tapukara in Rajasthan. The four vehicles as confirmed by Jnaneswar Sen, Senior VP, marketing and sales, are the next generation a compact SUV, a seven-seater MPV and the next generation City. 

The next generation Jazz will be unveiled at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show that is slated to begin on the 22nd of November. The car will be built on a new platform and will have a design similar to what Honda revealed with its Jazz based compact SUV in Detroit this year. 

The compact SUV is based on the Jazz platform and will slot in below the CR-V.  It is expected to get two engines with the petrol getting the option of hybrid. While the concept car had a very radical design, the production version is expected to get a slightly more conventional form of styling. It is sure to make its way here thanks to an increase in demand for compact crossovers. 

The seven-seater MPV will be based on the Brio platform and is expected to have roughly the same proportions as the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga and is expected to share many of its components with the Brio hatchback and the Amaze compact sedan. 

The final vehicle on the list is the next generation City sedan.  The current car has been a constant seller for the Japanese automaker since it launched in 2010. Looking at the life cycle of the previous two generations of the City, we can see that both cars ran for six years and seven years respectively. This means that the current car in the India market will be replaced in 2015. 

However, we can also consider the fact that there is currently not much demand for vehicles in the Rs 9-12 lakh category. With the buyer’s attention moving towards vehicles like the recently launched Ford EcoSport, Honda is likely to speed up the development of the jazz based SUV and launch it here as quickly as possible.  The next generation car is expected to remain the same in terms of proportions but will now get the 1.5-litre Earthdreams diesel mill when it is launched here.