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Honda launches upgraded version of Dio in India

Freddie — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:26:34 +0000

Asia Bizz: Japanese auto giant Honda Motors has recently launched the upgraded version of its Dio for the Indian market. The Dio MotoScooter was first launched in the year 2003 and since then this is the first time the Dio has been given an upgrade.

The new Dio was also introduced at the Delhi Auto Expo 2012 held in January. The scooter has been priced at Rs 42,632 ex showroom Delhi.

The upgraded Dio has a 110 cc four stroke engine which is also seen in Honda Activa as well as Aviator. Apart from a powerful engine, the new Dio has also been upgraded in terms of its looks.

In terms of fuel efficiency, it can deliver a mileage of 55 kmpl; the older version had a 102 cc engine. The other features like tubeless tires and combi brake system are the new highlights for the new Dio. Moreover, the company has also said that the new Dio has an improved leg space and with wider seats. The new Dio also has a maintenance free battery and a viscous air filter. This is also the first automatic scooter in the country to be introduced with tubeless tires, which ensures better stability and braking efficiency for its already sporty stance.

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Honda Brio diesel version to be launched in India

Agatha Vyland — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:01:17 +0000

Asia Bizz: Till now Honda was the brand which kept itself away from the diesel market, but now the Japanese auto giant Honda Motors is all set to enter the diesel market in India with its compact car Brio.

At present, the Japanese car maker is testing its diesel technology – common rail i-DTEC on the Brio. The company can introduce it on a 1.2 litre version.

The Brio was launched in the Indian market in September 2011 and was priced at Rs. 3.95 lakhs. The hatchback has a 1.2 litre i-VTEC petrol engine, which has the capacity to churn out maximum power of 88bhp along with a mileage of 18.4 kmpl.

With the launch of the diesel version of the hatchback, it can be expected that the sales chart may rise despite the late entry in the diesel market. The demand for diesel cars in India have gone up by 26 % due to the rising prices of petrol. In the recent times, the prices of the City and compact Jazz have gone through a price cut due to the dip in the sales. The price of the City was cut twice this year, due to which the value of the cars in the city has depreciated.

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Honda unveils new engines at Tokyo Motor Show

Nicholas — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 23:29:59 +0000

Asia Bizz: Japanese auto manufacturer Honda has recently announced its new generation of engines at the Tokyo Motor Show. The engines have been made on the basis of the ‘Earth Dreams Technology’ which allows the engines to generate more power and cuts the emissions.

The range of the petrol engines begins at 660cc, which is actually the requirement for the Japanese Kei cars. The range then continues to 1.3 litres, 1.5 litre, 1.8 litres, 2.0 litres 2.4 litre and 3.5 litres.

Out of these engines, the 1.5 litre, 1.8 litre and 2.4 litre engines would be of interest for the Indian buyers as these cars can be directly fitted in the Civic, Accord and the CR-V respectively. Moreover, even the 3.5 litre engine can be offered for the Accord V6, as it has been downsized in terms of the engine from 3.7 litre engine.

In the future, it can be expected that the sales of the Civic can go up. But they cannot be fitted in the City models as they are too large to fit in cars. With the launch of the new engines, it has signaled that they are concentrating more on the Indian market needs. It can also be expected that the company might come up with a diesel engine as the demand for the diesel cars has gone up due to the high prices of petrol.

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Honda to launch diesel cars in India

Nicholas — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 14:54:45 +0000

Asia Bizz: Now that the demand for diesel cars has increased in the Indian market, Japanese auto giant Honda is planning to launch diesel cars in the market. On October 3, 2011, the company announced their plans to launch diesel cars.

The demand for diesel cars has increased due to the constant hike in the petrol prices in India. Honda is now in the process of developing diesel engines in Japan, one of the senior officials of Honda Siel Cars India, Jnaneswar Sen said.

Jnaneswar Sen added that the research and development team in Japan is developing the diesel engines. He added that it would be premature to say that the products would be rolled out on the diesel platform.

However, the official refused to reveal when the cars would be launched in India. Sen said that the engines are being designed specifically for the Indian market, while the other markets prefer petrol cars. Meanwhile the company has launched its Brio in the hatchback segment, while Honda has said that with their new car they are targeting the first time buyers as well as those who have already own a Honda vehicle. The new Brio is prices between Rs. 4.4 lakhs and Rs. 5.20 lakhs.

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Honda Brio hatchback launched in India

Nicholas — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 12:33:39 +0000

Asia Bizz: Japanese car making giant, Honda, is ready to launch its Brio in the small car segment in the Indian market today on 27th September. With the entry of Honda Brio, the competition on the small car segment in the country is going to increase.

The company has released some of the information of the car, in which it has stated that it has an easy to handle compact body and also has enough cabin space to accommodate five people in it. The small car has been powered by a 1200 cc petrol engine.

The Honda Brio delivers an average of 20 KMPL and has the maximum power of 89Bhp at 6200 rpm, along with a torque of 110 Nm at 4800 rpm. Considering the demand for the diesel vehicles in India, the company would soon consider to bring the diesel versions to in the market.

The hatchback has already been launched in Thailand. In Europe, the diesel version of Brio is already available which has a 2.2 litre diesel engine, which is unfortunately not suitable for the Indian market. As the sulphur content in diesel in the country is higher, such an engine will not be ideal. In India, the hatchback will be competing against the leading hatchbacks like Maruti Swift, Ford Figo, Toyota Etios Liva and Chevrolet Beat.

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Japanese auto giant Honda to recall 3,00,000 Pilot SUVs

Nicholas — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 12:54:34 +0000

Asia Bizz: Auto giant Honda Motor Co. has stated that it will be recalling 3,00,000 of its Pilot sports utility vehicles that were manufactured between 2009 and 2011. The SUVs have been called back to check the front seat belts, which could get disconnected in case of a crash.

Such a case can be risky and increase the chances of injury. The Japanese company has said that there is a possibility of a manufacturing error in the assembly of the vehicles.

The stitching connection of the lap section of the belt, which connects the outboard anchor webbing can be missing or even incomplete in some cars. Fortunately, there are no reports of injuries or death that have been reported due to the defect.

Honda has also said that it would be calling 1 million cars worldwide, out of which 1,00,000 cars are from the United States. The company has also recalled 80,000 CR-V SUVs of the 2006 model year, to replace the power window switch. Moreover, 5,626 CR-Z small hybrids of the 2011 model have been called back by Honda in US. These cars have been installed with manual transmissions and have to go through a software update, which controls the hybrid electric motor. The company has said that if the problem was not rectified, then the car can suddenly roll backward.

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Honda launches two variants of CBR 250R in India

Samron Jude — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 21:24:57 +0000

Asia Bizz: Japanese auto giant Honda, on Friday launched the CBR 250R in two variants in the Indian market. The Indian customers will get to own the standard, as well as the C-ABS variant of the CBR 250.

The standard variant will cost Rs. 1.47 lakhs, while the C-ABS variant will cost at Rs. 1.73 lakhs ex -showroom. Honda has already been flooded with 2,000 bookings.

With the launch of the two new CBR 250 R variants in the country, the company is now aiming to cross the two million two wheeler sales for the year 2011, with a rise recorded at 1.6 million last year. Moreover, Honda is also planning to launch two more bikes, which includes the 100cc bike.

The 100cc bike is the largest segment in the country and the other one is a scooter, of which the company has garnered 54 percent in the segment. Overall, Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India has a 13 to 14 percent market share in the two wheeler market in the country. The company is now also planning to increase the capacity to 4 million two wheelers per year with the help of a new plant in the state of Karnataka, India. Earlier, the company had a capacity of 2.8 million two wheelers per year.

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India’s Honda CB Unicorn motorcycle waiting period increases by 6 months

Samron Jude — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 16:37:13 +0000

Asia Bizz: For people in India who are waiting to own the new 150cc CB Unicorn motor bike, it looks like they might have to wait for as long as six months for its delivery after booking the motorcycle. The company – Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India – has increased the waiting period of the CB Unicorn model considering the huge demand for it.

The new Unicorn bike was introduced in the year 2005 in the Indian market. The motorbike has been developed by the R&D team in Japan and is internally called the CB150M.

The bike was designed specially to suit the Indian roads. After the first edition was launched, the company had made some minor changes and had called it the CB Unicorn to comply with the Euro III norms.

The Unicorn had successfully competed with other bikes in the 150cc segment in the Indian market including Apache 160cc of TVS and the Pulsar from Bajaj. The reports of the increase in the waiting period were confirmed by the senior company official, who said that it was due to the unprecedented demand of the bike. The official on the condition of anonymity also added that they have not stopped the production, but have increased the waiting period due to the increase in the demand of the bike.

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Honda City India car price slashed by Rs. 66,000 due to competition

Agatha Vyland — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 16:27:00 +0000

Asia Bizz: Japanese automobile manufacturer, Honda on Tuesday announced a major price cut on its Honda City in India. The company has announced a price cut of Rs. 66,000 in order to revive the falling sales of the sedan in the Indian automobile market.

There was a time when Honda had dominated the sedan segment with the City, but in recent times, a huge drop is seen in the sales of the sedan after Hyundai and Volkswagen had launched their sedans to compete with the City.

One of the major reasons the sales of the City had gone down in India was due to the fact that the company could not offer a diesel version of the car. Moreover, the soaring prices of petrol also led to the dip in the sales of the sedan.

The sudden decision of the price cut has come as a surprise to customers as Honda had never practiced price cuts since it has always believed that it would diminish the value of the cars that are already sold. Talking about competition, the Honda City had tough competition from Hyundaiâ€™s Verna and Volkswagenâ€™s Vento that sold at prices much lower than the City. Moreover, Hondaâ€™s hatchback Jazz too failed to take off in the Indian market due to its high pricing, which began at Rs.7 lakhs. Honda was also hit by the tsunami in Japan due to which the supply of the parts to India was delayed.

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New vehicle sales at an all time low in Japan this April

Nicholas — Wed, 04 May 2011 19:57:03 +0000

Asia Bizz: Japan has been struck by grave tragedy as a result of the March 2011 tsunami-earthquake. Presently, the Asian country is also facing an all time low of automobile sales and the month of April has seen the lowest record sales of new vehicles in Japan. New vehicles in Japan sold at a record of 1,85,673 units in the month of April 2011.

Two associations in Japan called the Japan Automobile Dealers Association and the Japan Mini Vehicles Association, have said that the rate at which the sales have reduced is a huge rate; and way back in January 1968, was the last lowest sales with 1,98,693 units sold.

The reason behind the drop in sales is also related to problems of parts faced by automakers. Companies like Toyota, Nissan, Honda have lowered their production of vehicles and some of them were also forced to stop due to the shortage of spares and car parts. Toyota, the largest automaker in the world, has also faced problems as their not able to meet the export demands specially from the north-American markets.

Experts say that Japan will be able to start full production of cars by the last quarter of the year.