Honda launches the all new Accord

Honda Siel Cars India launched the new Honda Accord with new features. The Accord on the exterior gets a new Chrome accentuated front grille, rear chrome garnish and new front bumper adds to the charm of the Accord. The Sunroof now comes as standard across the Accord range.



The new feature list also includes steering mounted cruise control system with one-touch op which enhance the looks of the car. The inside wooden panel makes it look even more exquisite. The Accord now comes with an improved audio system for improved usability & readability and a Jackknife key have also been added to the Accord.

Honda Accord is equipped with Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) to assist the driver in maintaining control during cornering, acceleration and sudden maneuvers. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Takashi Nagai, President & CEO, Honda Siel Cars India Ltd., said "Honda Accord has been one of the most successful premium sedans in its category with over 25000 units sold since its launch in India setting new standards in exclusivity, comfort and safety. Our belief in constantly upgrading our products based on customer feedback prompted this launch of an upgraded version of the Accord with unique styling in combination with luxurious features."

The Honda Accord is available in 2.4L and 3.5L V6 engine and comes with a 5-speed Manual Transmission and 5-speed Automatic transmission with Paddle shift. The Automatic Transmission has Shift Holding System which avoids unnecessary gear shifting on winding roads and helps in hassle free drive.



The 3.5L V6 engine features an advanced Variable Cylinder Management (VCM) system that switches between six-, four-, and three-cylinder combustion depending on the driving conditions and thereby delivering maximum power of 275 PS during six cylinder operation and impressive fuel economy in VCM mode while cruising. The new alloy wheels of the Accord V6 enhance the looks of the car even more.



The Honda Accord is equipped with six airbags, including side curtain air bags, Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) body and G-Force Control Technology (G-CON) for enhanced safety of the vehicle occupants during a collision. Honda Accord V6 3.5L and Honda Accord 2.4L also have a provision for Bluetooth connectivity and customers can buy it as a Honda Genuine Accessory.

The variants are priced as below:
Accord 2.4 MT – Rs.19.60 lakh
Accord 2.4 AT – Rs.20.36 lakh
Accord 3.5 V6 – Rs.25.41 lakh

Maruti Suzuki Tops Again

India’s numero uno car company -"Maruti Suzuki" has topped the list for the tenth consecutive year for customer satisfaction in the country according to a recent survey conducted by global market research firm J D Power.

In the survey, "J D Power Asia Pacific 2009 India Customer Service Index Study", Maruti Suzuki scored 824, on a scale of 1,000 points, followed by Honda Siel Cars India at 791 and Mahindra & Mahindra at 757.

It was to be noted that only Maruti Suzuki and the Indian arm of Honda bettered the industry's average score of 785.

The other major car makers in the top ten list are Toyota with 754 points, Mahindra-Renault and Tata Motors at 750, Chevrolet with 748 points and Hyundai with 5 points less than Chevrolet. Ford is at the eighth place with 733 points followed by Fiat at 727 and Skoda is at the tenth position at 722.

The Senior Director of J D Power Asia Pacific mentioned that the leading brands differentiate themselves in the service quality and vehicle pickup factors. The study measured overall satisfaction by examining five factors -- service quality, vehicle pickup, service advisor, service facility and service initiation.

J D Power also said the number of customers who changed from organised dealership service facilities to non-authorised service centre for vehicle service requirements decreased to seven per cent in 2009, from 11 per cent in 2008.

Overall customer satisfaction is measured on a 1,000 point scale, with a higher score indicating higher satisfaction. The study, which is based on responses from more than 5,800 owners of nearly 50 different vehicle models, was fielded from May to August 2009 and includes customers who had purchased their vehicles between May 2007 and August 2008.

2010 Honda Civic

Honda will unveil the next generation (ninth) Civic in 2010. Here is an exclusive rendering of what reports suggest the future car may looks like. Based on the OSM Concept unveiled by Honda at the British Motor Show, the future little Honda will likely look more aggressive in its European form and hopefully this look will spill over into North America.

Although Honda has not announced plans to bring the hatchback version of the Civic back to the U.S., we chose this rendering to give us all something to drool over. For Euro Civic fans, sources indicate that the future Civic hatchback will carry over the current single strip light cluster at the rear, but the split rear screen has been dropped to improve visibility.

Honda currently makes two different versions of the Civic. Just like the Accord, the car offered in Europe is a different design and rides on a different platform. The last two generations of the Civic in the U.S. have taken the car away from the youth and turned it into mom and pop’s second car. Gone are the days of the performance-oriented double-wishbone front suspension (2001), instead we get more interior room. It may be reliable, but it lost most of its passion.

The true hope is that with the 2010 update, we will get back the hatchback or at least something similar to the sporty design from our rendering of Honda’s own OSM Concept. Honda make it dependable, but make sure it has a pulse.

Honda Jazz launch ontrack, Accord 3.5 V6 slated for next month roll out

Honda Motors India has reaffirmed its commitment to launch its latest small car Jazz in June as per prior schedule, even though it will go slow on its production. The Jazz is powered by a specially developed 1.2-litre engine crafted keeping in interest of the Indian customer. It will share its platform with the Honda City.

Furthermore, it is gearing up to roll out a 3.5-litre V6-engined luxury sedan-Accord, by next month. The i-VTEC-powered 6-cylinder car, which is likely to be retailed at around Rs. 19-21 lakh (ex-showroom India), will be pitted against Toyota Camry. The company has, however, refused to share any details of the product.

Honda Motors India Ltd president and chief executive officer Masahiro Takedagawa revealed to the media that the trial production of the Jazz had already started. Talking about the upcoming Accord he said that the company aims to occupy the top spot in the luxury car segment as confirmed and its entire team is working towards attaining leadership in the premium segment. He concluded by saying that HSCI has already become the number one player in the D-segment, with the tremendous response received by both its D-segment offerings - Accord 2.4L and CR-V - launched last year. He further added that Honda is confident that the Honda Accord V6, which promises to set new standards in the segment by delivering an unmatched driving experience, will only strengthen its lead further.

Honda unveils plans for small car

Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI) has announced its plans to come up with a second small car in the country after the launch of Jazz in the middle of next year. The announcement comes despite a slowdown in the passenger car industry in India.

The second small car from Honda, to be rolled out from the company's second plant in Rajashthan, is expected to go on stream in the fourth quarter of 2009.

However, according to Bloomberg, Japan's second- largest automaker will delay opening its second car factory in India owing to a slowdown in the market growth.

The news agency, quoting Tokyo-based Honda spokesman Sakae Uruma, says that the company aims to open the Rajasthan plant by October 2010 as against the scheduled opening of 2009.

"We will be launching two small cars in India within the next three to four years," Jnaneswar Sen, vice-president-marketing, HSCI. The first of those--the premium hatchback Jazz--will be rolled out by June-July next year. It will be followed by a smaller car that will be driven by a 1.2 litre petrol engine and is currently under development, said Sen. He added that it will initially be produced at the company's plant in Greater Noida.

The Greater Noida plant is part of Honda's Rs 1,000 crore initial investment in India for setting up a new facility to manufacture small cars focusing on the domestic market. Spread over 600 acres, the facility will have an initial capacity of 60,000 units and could be expanded up to 2.4 lakh units over a period of time.

Honda Siel Cars, on Friday, inaugurated the first phase of its second plant at Tapukara, which comprises a press facility and an advanced power train unit. The facility, which is spread over 150 acres and will eventually employ 500 people, will supply body panels and engine components to HSCI's Greater Noida plant.

The company will also set up an R&D centre in India to focus on market and environmental research and development of local components and material more suited to Indian conditions.

Carmakers offer gifts and gold to lure customers

It’s raining gold in the car market. Fighting sluggish market conditions, carmakers are offering diamonds sets, gold coins & chains, silver plates and MP3 music systems to lure customers into their showrooms before the festive season.

Traditionally, festive season has meant free insurance covers and auto accessories for buyers. However, this time around, carmakers such as Hyundai Motors and Ford India are offering precious metals to attract female customers and new buyers. Hyundai Motor India (HMI) is offering a free gold coin with its entire range (except i10 AT and Getz 1.5L CRDi) and an MP3 player with the Verna sedan range and the 1.1L & 1.3L Getz hatchback cars.

HMI managing director HS Lheem said: “We are offering these gifts as part of our successful decade-long operations in India. Besides, with these valuable offerings, we’re making Hyundai products very attractive for our customers.”

While Ford Motors India, which recently gave a facelift to Fiesta, is now offering Tanishq diamonds worth Rs 20,000 with every Fiesta. It has also started special offers including cash incentives for corporate and public sector buyers.

Car sales have nosedived in the past two months after a three year-long growth drive. While sales grew 3% in July, August saw a 1.71% dip year-on-year. To fight the slowdown, other companies are taking different routes to tap the market. Maruti Suzuki India has launched special incentives to attract over 25.4 lakh employees from the insurance, banking and retail sector with additional discounts of Rs 17,000 on SX4, Rs 5,000 on M800 & Alto, Wagon R, Estilo and Rs 4,500 on Swift (petrol version).

“It is a tough time and we are concentrating on non-core markets. Banks, financial institutions and insurance companies make up a big market, but still remain tapped. We are directly giving cash discounts to customers in place of tangibles,” a senior executive of Maruti said.

American auto major General Motor has also followed the similar path offering huge cash discounts. The highest cash rebate of Rs 58,000 comes on the Spark compact car, followed by Rs 46,000 on Tavera multi-utility vehicles. Other pre-Diwali offers include Rs 28,000 discount on Optra Magnum sedan along with a 4-5% interest waiver on all loan deals.

Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI) has plunged into the discount market for the first time and has waived 50% insurance premium on its popular City and Civic sedans, besides offering comprehensive warranty and service packages to the customers.

Redesigned Honda City for India

The all-new Honda City will be here soon. The City has absolutely dominated the mid-size car market, but has been criticized in some quarters for losing the fun-to-drive character that made it so popular when it debuted in India. With the new car, Honda is certain it will win back buyers who choose a car with their hearts and their heads.

The high seating and tall stance will be replaced by a sleeker silhouette, although not as low as that of its older sibling, the Civic.

Honda's range of twin-spark i-DSi engines may not make it under the hood of the new car. Instead, Honda's renowned VTEC power plants are expected to be standard across the model line. Whether the City will continue to have a continuously variable transmission option isn't clear, as C-segment buyers haven't shown a preference for it in the past.

Honda City escapes tax hike by whisker

HONDA City has escaped, by the proverbial whisker, from the increase in central sales tax announced by the government on Friday. As a result the model appears to have gained vis- à- vis its arch rival Maruti Suzuki’s SX4.

Honda City has a1,497cc engine, which keeps the sedan out of the ambit of the central sales tax hike of Rs 15,000, which has been imposed on Maruti Suzuki’s SX4 and other mid- size competitors such as Hyundai’s Verna and Ford Fiesta as the engine capacities of these models are in excess of 1,500cc.

Maruti Suzuki, which is India’s largest car manufacturer, had deliberately priced its Sx4 model below the popular Honda City in order to eat into its market share and succeeded with its pricing policy. It had attracted buyers as SX4 was bigger and yet cheaper than Honda City. However, since it has an engine capacity of 1,586cc the price gap between the two cars has now been narrowed down by Rs 15,000. It now remains to be seen whether Maruti comes up with a discount offer to keep its edge on pricing.

The price of the low- end Honda City EXi is Rs 6,77,000 while the Honda City GXi model has been priced at Rs 7,31,000. In comparison, Maruti Suzuki’s SX4 VXI carried a price tag of Rs 6,38,000 while the higher- end SX4 ZXi was priced at Rs 7,09,000 until Friday.

The price difference between SX4 and Honda City on these two models worked out to Rs 39,000 and Rs 22,000, respectively. Consequent to the Rs 15,000 hike in central sales tax the price gap has been scaled down to Rs 24,000 and Rs 7,000, respectively.

Honda cuts car prices as central sales tax lowered

WHILE most automakers in the country are hiking prices, Honda Siel Cars India said on Sunday it is cutting the rates of its sedans, City and Civic, by up to Rs 5,000 with immediate effect on account of the reduction in central sales tax (CST) by the government.

“We have received notification from the government on the central sales tax cut from three to two per cent announced in the Budget. Hence, we are reducing the prices of our models City and Civic to pass on the benefit to consumers,” aHonda Siel Cars India official said. While mid- sized sedan, City will be cheaper by Rs 3,000, Civic will be cheaper by Rs 5,000.

Before the cut, City was priced at between Rs 6.80 lakh and Rs 8.65 lakh, while Civic cost between Rs 10.91 lakh and Rs 12.41 lakh. The official, however, said the price of the companys sports utility vehicle Honda CRV will remain unchanged.

In fact, CST was proposed to be reduced to two per cent from April 11, but it could not be done due to differences between the Centre and states over acompensation package for states for revenue loss due to the cut. The auto industry has been reeling under increasing input costs. Last month, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd had hiked prices its models.