Honda Siel, which is all set to launch the Jazz on June 10, is likely to price it around Rs 6.5-6.8 lakh, making it the most expensive hatchback on Indian roads. The Honda Jazz is based on the same platform as Honda City and foreign exchange fluctuations have forced Honda to price it much above competing models such as Skoda Fabia and Hyundai i20.
Honda, keen to keep its product’s premium positioning, doesn’t want the Jazz to be a price warrior. Honda’s models available in India, the City, Civic or Accord, command a brand and technology premium. The Jazz, know as the Fit in Japan, was the best selling car in that country last year. Honda has already started production of the Jazz on 28th May at its Greater Noida plant. The Jazz will be fitted with a 1.2 litre petrol engine that will crank out 90PS power compared with the City’s 1.5 litre engine that offers 120 PS power.
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June 1st, 2009 at 11:53 am
Guys, get ready to witness Jazz securing the car of the year, Overdrive awards…but u will see them only in showrooms and not on roads…Another Fabia story in the offering…Premium hatch-backs are a much-hyped segment created by Skoda, Hyundai and Honda in a highly price sensitive Indian market.Atleast Fabia and I20 are/will have diesel engines..But what anout Honda…no diesel option and high price tag….
June 1st, 2009 at 12:28 pm
Akra, I agree with you. Honda has started taking Indians for granted. There is no need to overprice the car so much to justify a premium. Lets wait till Hyundai get the i20 diesel.
About awards, you and I very well know how authentic they are. The Fiat Linea was launched in mid-January this year and it won the Autocar car of the year award. However the Xylo was no included in the battle of the car of the year. How much Fiat paid Autocar to make the Linea car of the year is something which neither of us know.
June 1st, 2009 at 2:15 pm
Honda is targeting very low sale of the jazz, but i think they aint gonna meet even this target! Its so costly, whos gonna buy it, I really wanted to buy this car, but am not gonna buy it, its so costly…..
And also honda service is not that great! Its bad, the technicians are pretty careless, n the service center in pune is so small.
Even a top end i20 costs 5.85 lac ex showroom, jazz is demanding a premium of around a lac
, come on!
June 1st, 2009 at 2:21 pm
Harshad, the i20 has more features too like 6 airbags. And Honda service is comparable to Tata. In Mumbai, their service has been quite pathetic.
June 1st, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Technology for me is what Maruti has been providing for years at a very competitive price. Technology for me means riding my car hasslefree and economically. Technology for me means feeling good inside my car. Technology for me never meant spending more then what is required just to have some stupid brand name written on the hood of my car. Thease Honda’s and Skoda’s will have to learn their lessons sooner then later and by then it might really be too late. BTW we will surely find many stupids falling for these high priced toys and then toying along alone on the roads … thats exclusivity for them
June 1st, 2009 at 6:41 pm
I too feel that Honda Jazz aka Honda Fit is over priced.I think and feel that Honda will not be able to sell Honda Jazz in huge numbers in India.Most of the Indian’s won’t be ready to pay a huge amount on a petrol hatchback.Honda won’t be offering a diesel option for Honda Jazz(I guess that I’m right
…So let us wait and see whether Honda Jazz will be a success/flop
June 1st, 2009 at 9:12 pm
one more car from HONDA which is going to fail on INDIAN roads
due to its HIGH MAINTAINING COST ,HIGH RUNNING COST
HONDA is a company with only small name BUT high on cost i think they should change their name to ‘HHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNDDDDDDDAAAAAAA’ NOW THATS PERFECT
June 2nd, 2009 at 12:39 am
Why the hell its not having pull type handle bars for the doors.
June 2nd, 2009 at 12:59 am
Raj, that is Honda for you.
June 2nd, 2009 at 1:35 pm
BTW fas, the linea was quitely launched in dec just to be eligible for the awards.
So if u look for the official/on paper launch date of Linea it might be somewhere in dec!
I strongly feel/wish nobody should buy the jazz n teach honda a lesson, n they are forced to reduce the price of the car (though its not gonna happen
)
June 2nd, 2009 at 2:27 pm
I prefer the i20 than the Jazz. The Jazz first of all is overpriced, second does not has a automatic climate control which the swift also has, third no pull type handle bars for the door even the Ritz has them, fourthly no mac wheels which all other cars do have.
June 2nd, 2009 at 10:22 pm
Harshad, the Linea was launched on 15th January.
Raj, even the Honda City does not have alloys.
June 3rd, 2009 at 3:04 pm
Akra and Fas it’s never worth to comment until and unless you experience. Like other Indians you have also started commenting in a childish way that Honda Jazz is going to be another Fabia story. Indeed India is a price sensitive market but still Honda rules the road due to their quality , reliablity and care for their customers. Unlike other manufacturers involved in providing cheap cars with poor safety, ugly finish and unreliable technology which they usually copies from MNCs this is the product which will prove its worth on the basis of its performance like its other family cars which have Honda DNA running through them.
I am sure that even if India is a price sensitive market but we are crusing for a chnage and we have started realizing the advantage of safety and technology. A quality car manufactured infact requires a lot of R&D and money to be injected in for development too.
I am sure Indians shouldn’t be considered to be the one who only want to purchase cheap cars manufacutured by some of the Indian car and jeep manufacurers. Infact most of the expensive car manufacturers are in India today too. Indian customer will go for reliablity and that will be prove with time to see.
June 3rd, 2009 at 3:15 pm
I have read all the comments and one thing is clear on the mind that all of these people have first not seen the vehicle nor hve they test ridden it and above all they don’t know the insight as to how these cars are manufacutered.
If we take the first concern about the cost then I also agree with Deepak that companies like Skoda and Honda are the one who spend a lot for innovative and safe technologies making their car safe as well as reliable.
Comparing the price of a car to the other jeeps or tata’s is not fare as they are just copying as to what these MNCs innovate. So obviously their quality and cost comes cheap.
If someone has test ridden this car then they should have admired it and even I also own an old indica and definately I will also take some loan from finance and will changeover to Honda Jazz not to bear a logo on my car but to have a safe, reliable and innovative car, not the ones who follow them. I will support the innovative leader.
June 3rd, 2009 at 3:31 pm
Guys first and foremost calling Honda cars safe is totally ridiculous. Yes they do have airbags and ABS but have you seen the tires fitted on these cars? A Swift has widder tires than a Honda City. Just drive a Honda City and you will come to know how scary the car is under braking. So why does Honda overlook such small safety issue? Simply because they don’t care. I am not comparing Honda to Tata, because the segments are different but just put the Jazz side by side to the Hyundai i20 and you will know what I am talking about. The Jazz is costlier and does not have anything more to offer compared to the i20. Why is it so, because Indians will pay blindly for a Honda car and Honda really doesn’t care. I am not saying the Jazz is a bad car, its a fantastic car but at the price which Honda wants to sell it at there are a whole lots of options.
Anyways I will reserve my comments till i drive it, but Honda really need to give more value if they want to price cars so high.
June 3rd, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Fas I appreciate your views that Honda Jazz is also a good performance car. Its obvious man if a company is investing so much to develop innovative technology then their cost of production will also increase. I can show you the overall reputation of the manufacturers as Hyundai is the worst brand considered by US and Europe while Honda is the one who has taken the US market by storm.
It was indeed a time when the Maruti used to sell good vehicles but they still lack safety and robustness.
As far as tyre width is concened I don’t think so that increasing the width in comparison to other vehicle will make any difference as the vehicle wheel alignment and overall stability is being tested in India as well as based on the experience of these MNCs all around the globe is set.
Even jeeps and xylo having bulky tyres have a lot of body roll and instability at corners so it doesn’t mean that Honda should copy from those who follow them.
Even hyundai i20 is not that safe as compared to jazz when it comes to technologies employed for the first time in India like G-Con.
One more insight news for friends is that Hyundai has been paying an incentive of Rs100 per employee from R&D for reducing the weight of their cars per gram . And in doing so the R&D has been neglecting the safety and reliablity at the cost of making bucks.
June 3rd, 2009 at 4:00 pm
Huzaifa, if tires are proper for the Jazz than why does Honda downsize them for the Indian markets? The Honda Jazz comes with wider tires elsewhere but for India, Honda puts smaller tires to save money on production. Maruti cars do have safety features, the SX4 started the trend with ABS and airbags as standard which led to Honda following. About Hyundai being the worst, what you say is totally right a few years back. But now the situation is different. Do you know that Hyundai is the most upcoming car company in not only the US but the whole world. Hyundai ranks ahead of Honda in global sales.
And I am not comparing Indian cars with the MNCs. I am talking about MNC vs MNC. Just look at Hyundai, Honda, Toyota, VW, Skoda. Don’t Toyota use innovative technology and don’t they also have higher production costs. Just look at the features in the Honda Civic and compare it to the Toyota Corolla and see the price. Toyota Corolla Altis is not only cheaper but better equipped as well.
Hyundai i20 has got 5 Star rating from EURO NCAP (which is absolutely stunning) Even the Jazz got the same rating so saying that Hyundai i20 has inferior safety is quite misleading. The Hyundai i20 is the only hatchback which comes with 6 airbags. So Honda has not really been innovative. Hyundai was the first car company in India to offer ABS as standard on all its variants. Hyundai was the first car company to offer affordable CRDi technology. Hyundai is the first car company to offer 6 airbags in a hatchback.
Why doesn’t Honda sell diesel cars in India? They reason Indian fuel is too bad but all car companies have been selling diesel cars right from Maruti to Mercedes and they don’t face any issue. They should admit inability (or should I say I Don’t Care Attitude) in making a diesel car suited for Indian needs rather than cribbing about fuel quality and blaming Indian road conditions.
P.S I neither own a Honda or a Hyundai and I am not interested in buying a car from eithers stable in the near future.
June 3rd, 2009 at 4:16 pm
i am really excited about the views posted by everybody here…Deepak, i am surprised to hear from you that Honda rules the road…i suggest you to check the sales numbers of recent months as compared to other Indian manufacturers…Even the new Honda City is not entirely a VFM product…Agreed that we need quality and that doesnt come cheaply…i am still surprised at car manufacturers advertising about NCAP ratings in India…I guess you will see more life taking accidents in India rather than in Europe…
And coming back to other comments regarding R&D costs or commenting without actually driving the car, Jazz is not entirely a new product..it is launched in India after being launched in many other countries..so the R&D costs really dont drive the product cost in this scenario..and regarding driving experience…when its build on the same Honda platform…you can compare it with City’s driving experience..
And when honda itself says that they want to employ premium pricing just not to start a price war…thers no point in trying th support the high pricing of Jazz..actually its not about price or quality or driving experience..ITS ALL ABOUT VFM ASPECT ON WHICH JAZZ WOULD CERTAINLY FAIL…
June 3rd, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Dear Fas its really amazing that Hyundai has developed so far within short span. But being an automobile enigneer and working for Mahindra I know that why a company needs to alter their design as well as dimensions to suit for Indian conditions. Tyre down sizing is done as here in India the road condition as well as the speed limits are far more different then what they are abroad. Also every manufacturer somewhat do partiality in their models for domestic as well as for foreign market. It is case with maruti, hyundai and GM and who so ever you can call.
If sales is the only reflection of the innovativeness and reliability then Rolls Royce, Mercedes and BMW are worst in India.
Six bags is an innovative step indeed but thats not the only one to support the occupant in case of an accident . GCon employed in Jazz will distribute the forces evenly away fro the occupant and air bags will assist them.
Technology doesn’t come cheap and indeed when a car is marketed it is a major factor to be checked whether the competitor has it or not.
If you term diesel engines to be a technological advantage then I would like to remind you that at present Hyundaui diesels are talk of the past and they have been occupied by Fiat 1.3 litre multijet supplied to Maruti and Tatas.
Honda has its own innovative and enviornment friendly technologies which not even a single company has introduced till date in India. All what you have mentioned are introduced for the sake of market share and to attract customer away from Hyundais main competitor in small car segment.
Honda is the leader in iVTEC ,G- Con, Idle Start Stop- which jeep manufacturers have copied and are marketing it as micro hybrid, they were the only one to introduce HYBRID and they are on their way to produce diesels specific for Indian conditions.
I am not for any particular brand but I always praise those are sincere, innovative and helpful for the customer
June 3rd, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Sales are not a reflection of quality and innovation as said by Huzaifa but Honda City is the largest selling car in its segment and I would like to recommend my dear friend to first consult the Indian auto sites which have shown already that city sales is up by 58% in comparison to their sales figure last year.There is so much so illision about Jazz and may be that is certainly due to its much anticipated launch. Once it is launched I think all these doubts will get cleared. Honda has invested to develop the engine and aerodynamics of this car specifically for Indian customers keeping fuel efficiency as the major point. One car can’t be sold all around even if you can go and check the specifications of Jazz in europe you will not find them the same as that in Japan or in India. Exterior looks the same but not the interior and technology. Honda’s decision for premium price tag is targeted at a particular segment of customers. The same is the strategy of every company. Maruti manufacturers cars specially for low cost customers, mahindra makes jeeps and xylo for rural customers and similarly mercedes and BMW for top segment.
Price is decided not only for the cost input but also for the after sales support and infra structure which dealers employ for their customers and for the care os their cars. All this doesn’t come cheap as you can repair your jeeps on road side shops.
June 4th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
Anybody knows if Honda is planning to launch the Jazz with 1.5L engine too? Have been reading only of the 1.2L engine and even the dealer has no clue whether 1.5L is planned for a future date or not.
June 4th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
Manish, the Jazz will come with the 1.5L engine but only next year.
June 4th, 2009 at 8:41 pm
Nobody can tell for sure if the 1 – 1.5 lac premium for the jazz is really for the technology or honda just wants to make some extra bucks.
Nobody knows what goes inside the company.
Would like to comment on what Deepak said: “….but still Honda rules the road due to their quality , reliablity and care for their customers.”
I agree their products are of great quality and very reliable, but their service is pathetic, they really dont care for their customers, they wont repair things even if they are repairable, instead they take the easier route of replacing it. They always miss out on many tasks i tell them while givin the car for servicing, even if they are written on the job card. They take time to attend u once u drive in the service center.
Maruti offers the best service in India, no wonder they have topped the JD Power Customer Service Index in India for 9 years.
June 10th, 2009 at 11:39 pm
Hi All,
well well well, jazz is a good car n their is no question about that but it is highly overpriced in india. Honda is not considered as a luxury brand in most parts of the world and for the same reason they launched a new brand called ‘Acura’ which is a success in USA but a failure in Europe as Europe has their own luxury brands. So the jazz is overpriced in india because it is one of countries which think that honda is a luxury brand (don’t know y). Hyundai on the other hand is a company which started quiet badly in USA and Europe coz initially they had a tie up wid Mitsubishi for technology but they have come up a long way since then by developing their own technology centers. Hyundai Genesis has won the North American Car of the Year 2009 beating out rivals like Honda, Toyota, VW and others. Good thing is that Hyundai is not marketing themselves as luxury car manufacture in india like Honda does. Jazz is good car and honda as a company is very reliable but by overpricing their products they are not giving enough oppurtunities to people who want to own a honda. I wud like to give Kudos to Hyundai for pricing i20 right( n its a success too) n giving oppurtunity to people by giving all the features one cud find in a so called luxury brand and i acknowledge hyundai’s continous effort to be in league wid so called luxury brands bt wid sensible pricing.
June 18th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa nothing is good al indeedhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa honda da best