New Delhi: Honda Cars India on Wednesday said it has launched an updated version of its compact sedan Amaze in the country, priced between Rs 6.32 lakh and Rs 11.15 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The model comes with both petrol and diesel powertrains. The petrol trims are powered by a 1.2 litre engine while the diesel variants come with 1.5 litre powertrain options. The petrol manual variants are tagged between Rs 6.32 lakh and Rs 8.22 lakh while the CVT (automatic) trims are priced at Rs 8.06 lakh and Rs 9.05 lakh, respectively.
The diesel manual versions are priced at Rs 8.66 lakh and Rs 10.25 lakh while the diesel CVT trim is tagged at Rs 11.15 lakh. As per the company, the manual petrol trims deliver a fuel efficiency of 18.6 km per litre while the CVT versions come with a fuel efficiency of 18.3 km per litre. The diesel manual on the other hand comes with 24.7 km per litre figure while the diesel CVT offers a fuel efficiency of 21 km per litre.
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"Since its launch in 2013, Amaze has been a successful model in our line up and a key pillar of our business in India. Its cumulative sales have crossed 4.5 lakh units in the country over the past eight years," Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) President and CEO Gaku Nakanishi told reporters in a virtual unveiling event. A strategic model for the company's business in the country, Amaze has been specifically developed for the Indian consumer and exclusively made in India, he added. The model is the largest volume driver for Honda in India currently and has maintained its position among the country's best-selling sedans, Nakanishi noted.
"The new Amaze with its enhanced looks and styling is aimed to delight our customers offering them a one class above sedan experience. We are launching the model just before the onset of festive period and are confident that the car will be received with much enthusiasm by our customers” he added. The first generation Amaze was launched in the country in 2013 while the second generation of the model made its debut in 2018.
Around 68 per cent of the Amaze sales currently come from Tier II and Tier III cities, making it an important product in terms of company's connect with the country's heartland. The model comes with over 95 per cent localisation and 40 per cent of the customers are first time buyers, he added. The model is also being exported to South africa and some of the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan, Nakanishi said. Nakanishi noted that the last two years and half years have been the toughest for the domestic auto industry.
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Slowdown in sales began in 2019 followed by COVID crisis which has had a far reaching impact on the industry, he said. "At the same time pent up demand and rise in personal mobility has helped the industry towards a good recovery in the fourth quarter of last fiscal. The ongoing fiscal year will be a year of resilience and recovery. “Although the second COVID wave impacted the sales recovery but with the gradual opening of the market and declining COVID infections, car sales have significantly improved once again," Nakanishi noted.
The company expects consumer sentiments to improve helping demand to grow in the coming months due to faster pace of vaccination, progress of monsoon and onset of festive period, he noted. Nakanishi added that with the launch of new Amaze, Honda has refreshed its entire product range and that would help add excitement and create customer demand in the market. "India is an extremely important market in Honda's global strategy and we are committed to bring our latest technologies and products for our customers here," he noted. (PTI)
