CHENNAI: Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) on Wednesday launched the all-new Honda City in both petrol and diesel variants.
"New launches always create new excitement in the market which can boost demand. This is our third launch in the past 15 days and the response to the models have been extremely positive," said Rajesh Goel, Sr Vice President and Director, Marketing & Sales, Honda Cars India Ltd.
HCIL was in the middle of BS6 transition when the lockdown happened. Ever since production resumed (in mid-June), the company's priority has been to quickly roll out models like New WRV, Civic Diesel and All New City. Besides, the company will soon launch the new Jazz with which the line-up will be completed, said Goel.
In the post lockdown scenario, retail sales are recovering faster than expected and Honda Cars is focusing on launching new products to cash in on the opportunity, said top officials of the company.
The company is upbeat with the rising sales figures in July. This comes after it reported 86% decline in its domestic sales in June against the June 2019 figures.
"Enquiry levels are increasing. July so far has been better than June and we are almost at 60% of last year's levels right now. The All New City is getting very good interest and after today’s launch, things will surely improve further," said Goel.
Goel is expecting that the industry may witness a revival in the last quarter of the FY. "We are hoping that in the January–March 2021 quarter, the industry may start doing similar volumes on a monthly basis compared to the same period in 2020," said Goel.
The much awaited new Honda City was launched on Wednesday with a starting price of ₹10.89 lakh and goes up to ₹14.64 lakh (ex showroom prices, Delhi). The fifth-generation Honda City will compete with Hyundai's Verna and Maruti Suzuki's Ciaz in the sedan segment. The new model has been designed to deliver high fuel efficiency, low emission and spirited driving performance.