Honda Motor Revamps Vehicle and Engine Lineups in India

Honda Motor’s business in India has been sluggish. The automaker’s product strategy was working in the first half of the 2010s but has been in a general decline since reaching its peak sales level in 2015. The introduction of stricter emission regulations, which primarily affect diesel vehicles, has led to sluggish sales. For this reason, Honda is in the process of reviewing its product lineup and engine development.

Honda's vehicle sales in India from January to April 2020 fell 73.0% year-on-year to 16,000 units. The decrease in sales accompanying the intensive product replacement to comply with the exhaust gas regulation BS6, which started to be applied in April 2020, was overlapped with the lockdown for the new coronavirus, which spurred the decrease in sales. Shrinking sales were caused by the introduction of BS4 emission standard coupled with the outbreak of the new coronavirus.

In order to comply with BS6 regulations, Honda’s core product the Amaze among other models have been made BS6 compatible while poorly performing models were pulled from the market. As of July 2020, there were five BS6-compatible models on the market namely the Amaze, 4th-gen City (gasoline only), Civic, CR-V (gasoline only) and WR-V. Another five BS6-compatible models are scheduled to be released in the future namely the 5th-gen City, Jazz (gasoline only), 4th-gen City (diesel) and CR-V (diesel).

Honda launched the new City in July 2020 after undergoing full-model change. Another core model the Jazz is scheduled to be revamped and released in the first half of 2021. The two models are expected to improve Honda’s sales in India.

Honda Motor: Meeting BS6 Emission Standard

・In December 2019, the gasoline version of the City (4th-gen) became BS6 compatible. – It is sold simultaneously with the new City (5th-gen). – The diesel version is scheduled to be BS6 compatible with BS6 sometime from the second half of 2020. ・In January 2020, the gasoline and diesel versions of the Amaze became BS6 compatible. – The diesel Amaze became Honda’s first BS6-compatible diesel model in India. ・In April 2020, sales of the diesel BR-V, Accord Hybrid and CR-V models were discontinued. – With the implementation of BS6 emission standard on April 1, Honda discontinued the sales of these models that have not been updated to comply with the new regulation. – The gasoline version of the CR-V, which complies with BS6, is continued to be sold. ・In July 2020, the facelifted WR-V became BS6 compatible. – Both the gasoline and diesel versions are powered by 1.5L BS-compatible engines. ・In July 2020, the diesel version of the Civic became BS6 compatible. – The gasoline version became BS6 compatible when the fully-redesigned model was launched in March 2019. – The Civic’s diesel model is available in VX and ZX grades only. BS6 compatibility has increased the VX grade’s price by 20,000 INR. ・The Jazz is expected to become BS6 compatible in the second half of 2020 and the first half of 2021. – As of July 2020, teaser ads have started to be posted on the Honda Cars India’s website, but details have not been announced.

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