Honda Jazz facelift India launch plans shelved, automaker to focus on the WR-V, City and new Amaze.
The facelifted Honda Jazz will not be launched in India and the Japanese automaker will focus on the WR-V, new Amaze and the City instead to drive its sales in the country. The Jazz facelift was launched globally last year and it was expected that the premium hatchback will be unveiled in India this year.
The Jazz was relaunched in India in 2015 and had quite a number of takers initially but slowly sales started to decline owing to the competition from Maruti Baleno and the Hyundai Elite i20. From April to February of FY2018, Honda sold just 24,995 units of the Jazz. The current-selling Jazz is available in India with two engine options – a 1.2-litre i-VTEC petrol coupled with a 5-speed manual transmission or a CVT and a 1.5-litre i-DTEC diesel motor paired with a 6-speed manual gearbox.
The second-generation Amaze was unveiled earlier this year at the Auto Expo and is slated to go on sale sometime in the coming months. The City, on the other hand, is well into its life cycle and by 2020, Honda is expected to bring in the next-generation model. There is news that the mid-size sedan will be produced in Honda’s Greater Noida facility as opposed to the Tapukara plant in Rajasthan, where it is currently being manufactured.
Honda has devised a strategy to manufacture the Jazz, WR-V, BR-V and the upcoming new Amaze at the Tapukara facility while the upcoming CR-V, Civic and the next-generation City will be made/assembled at the Greater Noida plant.
Jazz Facelift India Launch
– Honda not going to launch the facelifted Jazz in India
– The automaker wants to focus on the WR-V, new Amaze and the upcoming City instead
– Sales of the Jazz have been dismal when compared to the competition
Source – Livemint.com