Japanese auto major Honda is set to give a premium push in the Indian market this year by way of new launches and enhanced marketing programmes.
The company plans to relaunch its premium brand Honda Accord and will focus on stepping up marketing campaigns for its mid-size sedan Honda City to ward off the increasing competitive threats.
“Our next plan is to reintroduce our flagship brand Honda Accord. The hybrid sedan will be launched in September or October. Because, this is the one segment we have been absent for the past two-three years after holding a strong position for many years. We will be back there,” Jnaneswar Sen, Senior Vice-President, Marketing & Sales, Honda Cars India (HCIL) told
“It is a very advanced hybrid vehicle and it also will be a very stylish, luxurious and spacious car,” he added. The company is hopeful of strong customer adoption level for the hybrid cars in India.
“Honda was the first company to launch a hybrid. We introduced Civic Hybrid in 2008. People were willing to adopt new technologies even then. We expect to bring back some momentum in the segment with the new Accord,” he added.
Presently, the Accord segment is clocking monthly volumes of about 250 units and Toyota is dominating the segment with its Prius and Camry models, followed by Skoda (Superb) and Hyundai (Sonata).
Toyota’s Camry Hybrid continues its growth spree and clock more units when compared with last year, indicating the willingness of the market to accept alternative fuel technology like hybrid models.
Dealership network Meanwhile, HCIL also plans to protect its leadership position in the Honda City segment, aided by the network expansion and improved campaigns. In 2015-16, City led the segment with about 44 per cent market share. City has been facing stiff competition from Maruti Ciaz.
“We have a strong loyal base of customers for City. We are building on the positive word-of-mouth support for the model. Also, we will expand our dealer network to 340 from 298 now, Thus, enhanced campaigns and dealership expansion will help retain the leadership position of City,” Sen added.
The company also indicated that its just-launched 7-seater compact SUV secured over 4,000 bookings.
The bookings for BR-V, built on the platform of the Brio, Amaze and Mobilio, started on April 16, ahead of the market launch on May 5.