Honda has always been the aspirational brand of the upper middle class in India. Honda Owners are always considered as those who have a class above the middle class in India. I still remember, in the early 2000 s, if someone owned a Honda City they were always looked up on by all in the society. The Honda Accord and the Honda CR-V were a class apart.
Then came the Civic which took the D Segment by a storm. Radical styling, Cockpit like interiors and gem of an engine in 1.8L i-VTECH. The car was equipped with gadgetry much ahead of its time just as the looks as the looks suggested. Futuristic was one word to describe it. While on the other side, the City remained low on features, but zoomed up to the top on two pillars, Honda's brand name and the finest 1.5L i-VTECH engines.
By then, Honda had also moved into the small car space with the Brio Hatch. Cute car, fine 1.2L engine. It had come to make up for what the Jazz couldn't do. But the times had changed till then. It was the time when the Petrol Diesel Price gap widened and suddenly demand for Diesel Engines Surged. Maruti and Hyundai were the first to catch up with this change. Then came in the beloved 1.3 L Multi Jet from the FIAT which became the heart of Maruti, FIAT, Tata and Chevrolet.
Honda however was too adamant to realize this change and by the time they did, they had lost share in every segment.City was beaten by Verna, Civic by Altis and Elantra, Accord by the Passat and ofcourse the Brio by the Swift and i20. Honda gradually started to focus more on the mass segment cars. A diesel engine was brought in the face of Amaze followed by the new City and now the new Jazz.
In this transition however, Honda known as a premium manufacturer became a follower to the market demands. It struggled to develop a Diesel engine, offered the lowest equipment in its cars and ended up discontinuing it pillars the Civic and the Accord.
Today no doubt the City and Amaze are scorching the sales charts but they are constantly threatened by Hyundai and VW. Honda has almost exited from the luxury space and is playing the number game.
I believe in Honda still lies the quality of being a market leader, a premium brand an aspirational car. Hope Honda realizes it and gets back to the position it used to hold.
