Honda City simply rocks!!

Must say the Honda Jazz is one of the best cars in its segment. The earlier Jazz was a tad overpriced and subsequently was sold was on an attractive discount which led to quick stock clearing from the Honda Factory Finshed Goods yard and Dealer Inventory .

Honda took the learning from the Old Jazz Price pain and launched the "The New Jazz" at a competitive price

The New JAzz initially showed initial bouyant sales figures, however later plateaued and then subsequently tanked

Does the Indian consumer still find it overpriced? For the performance, style. equipement levels, I feel it is rightly priced.

Was it not promoted and or marketed  rightly ? Did it get caught between the Utility segment and the aspirational one ?

Were the people confused by its unique styling which cut across traditional lines hatchback and sedan Or is the 3 Box Sedan Customer still adamant for the Boot outside for Social reasons

Anywhich ways, I personally love this car and one can check out its rating by All India Experts and its actual users here at Motor Uncle 

https://motoruncle.com/cars/review/Honda-Jazz

Yesterday the Auto Media went Gaga ... On the launch of the New City in Thailand ...

while the entire world is going Woo Hoo!! over it ... I frankly struggle to locate, find "what New in the New City" 

Probably I'm not a Petro head who knows the car part by part , part no wise... well so are the normal 90% customers if not more... who had been waiting for the new city for a long long time..

Auto journos says ... Most changes are on the exterior ... and thats where I struggle the most to spot them ... They says its the new grille ... bla bla bla ... But no idea...

They say there would be leather seats, stereo with car Play, ABS ... Well Good Morning even the Ignis and Baleno come with these features now...

They say powertrain is very smooth and refined.... Hello! Honda has mastered making the finest petrol powertrains for donkey years now...

Did I head DRL's ? Daytime running Lamps ? YOu call that new in today's age... If they come ... they shall be restroing basic hygiene... 

So my questions remains ...  #WhatsNew?

Honda, A Brand which has been aspirational for the Indian consumers...Back in 1998 when the Honda Siel Cars debuted with the first Honda City at India's First Honda Dealership at Chandigarh, People went from Delhi to buy the City. That was the aspiration for owning a car with the power of 100 Horses... Something new and alien for the Indian Consumers back then... Many returning to Delhi with dented bumpers and fender... Unable to handle the power of the High rev Honda engines back then!

Honda, somehow lost the plot since 2010, it seems ... The Products like CR-V, Mobilio, BR-V have just seen average or below Average Performance.  Amaze though has a great start but was unable to displace DZire from it's throne. 

Now comes the WR-V . Pricing seems to be right. Shape is surely futuristic. Performance of Honda Petrol Powertrains is surely incomparable ... Petrol is the In thing these days 

The WR-V Ratings on Motor Uncle seems just Average ... They are the Experts  rating  only as of now... as the Actual Customers are yet to build to a significant no 

WR-V Sales performance would surely be a cornerstone for Honda Cars and We wish them all the very best!

Whats up Maruti Suzuki ? Broken the decade long jinx, if not longer??

Lets discuss the list of Products bombed in Premium segment last decade : Baleno , Kizashi, Grand Vitara ... Yup! A long list it is! 

Now comes in NExa, New Marketing, New Branding, Fading Consumer Memory ( always helps) , forgiving customer for past debacles

and you have a brilliant new Product and Buying Experience! 

Despite Honda launching a refreshed City, the Ciaz has overtaken the former in monthly sales. Tables have surely turned

Honda as a brand has stood for prestige, premiumness, luxury and comfort and has enjoyed a superlative Aspirational value since its launch in India in 1997-98. though it was very distinct from its global image which has been of entry level workhorse. Several Mass Auto Brands come to India and become Luxurious and Premium , other examples being VW,  Skoda, 

So what worked for Ciaz ? Shift to Nexa , Consistent Product Performance, Change in Mindset and Brand Perception of Maruti Brand or a combination of all these factors ... All said and done ...a big Hats off to Maruti Suzuki India for Pulling this off ... Lets see how long the lead can be sustained... as its just the beginning!

Indian Motown Story was never this exciting! 3 New Car Companies getting ready to launch! Kia Motors which created sensation at the Auto Expo Last month and then MG Motors which is a famous UK Car Brand, makers of the Once Popular Morris Minor but now owned by the chinese Auto behemoth SAIC and of course the Peugoet part of the French Giant Groupe PSA 

Each of these companies have their own strengths as well as drawbacks. A Shared Drawback aka shared Mobility is that they are coming in late.  Maruti , Hyundai, Mahindra, Honda and Toyota have already had a ball.  Maruti and Hyundai enjoy more than 70% market share 

Lets take them one by one ...

Peugeot 

They have already made multiple U -Turns in the past. Lets Hope this time they are here to Stay.  Though they have some great exciting products. Motor Uncle had blogged on  Peugeot https://motoruncle.com/blog/peugeot-india-no-u-turns-please/

MG Motors 

They have adquired the General Motors Old Plant at Halol. It was aged even when GM acquired it from Hindustan Motors, more than two decades back.  Moreover It shall take tonnes of Mktg Ammo for MG Motors to paint the picture thats hey! its an iconic  British Brand. Meanwhile the rivals shall be busy googling MG Motors, opening Wikipedia on their deivces and educating the customers of its Chinese Owners ie SAIC. This is very similar to what GM India faced with Optra and other vehicles of GM Daewoo antecedants. In the last decade, Korean Car Companies had faced lot of flak and a run down on image due to Daewoo Bankruptcy.  But that was last decade.....Success of Hyundai has been a great image makeover for Korean Co's and yes Kia gets to leverage this.

And for management at MG Motors life is a full circle. This is because most are from the Initial Years of GM India when they faced similar issue due to Daewoo and now they shall face from the Chinese Owners SAIC. People also say it was the dated SAIC products launched by GM India last few years which proved as latter's death warrant! Anyways lets bury the past as we are here to discuss a promising future! 

Kia Motors 

Kia has a lot going its way. A Big Brother like Hyundai by the side, whom it can always turn for advise, support, leverage.  Then its a Korean company and thanks to its parent, Korean Brands acceptance have seen a sea change for the better last one decade. Then its an easy to pronounce name, almost like a Hindi word "Kia" . This can mean higher recall and engagement with masses. It all begins with a easy to pronounce and remember name. Ask Mktg & Sales guys at Renault India and Chevrolet India and they share their Market challenges of a difficult name to pronounce! 

By the way Chevrolet in French means Goat's Milk! So Big Advantage to Kia on the name part and the lineage. Additonally their product line up oozzes excitment and assuming the power trains are shared with Hyundai, this means trust and proven quality even if not supremacy

And they have already invested in a plant with a capacity of 3,00,000 units an year  based on the confidence of gaining traction and marketshare. 

So the lines have been drawn ! Time to rev up the engines or charge up the Batteries! Its  Race Time ! May the best Companies win!